August was light on new Android apps, but there's one new arrival that might change things in a big way: Amazon Underground. Aside from that, Google's new push towards streaming games and a new translator service from Microsoft make up the more interesting apps from the big publishers. That said, there are a few indie gems in both our primary lineup and the Honorable Mentions sections, so check them out below.

Amazon Underground

Amazon has a new proposition for Android developers and users. The former offers their apps and games to the latter, including in-app purchases, for free, really free, and Amazon will pay them based on the amount of time spent by users in the app. It's an interesting idea (and one that's similar to the Kindle Unlimited payment system). Not every developer is OK with the idea, but enough have already signed on to make the service worth checking out for any Android user.

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Amazon Underground is a new app for Android phones. It has all of the functionality of our regular Amazon mobile shopping app … plus an exciting addition: over ten thousand dollars in apps, games and in-app items that are actually free for customers. Amazon Underground includes a new monetization model where Amazon pays developers based on the amount of time your app is used. With Amazon Underground, you can turn 100% of your Android users into revenue generating customers.

Amazon Underground


YouTube Gaming

Android Police coverage: YouTube Gaming v1.0 Rolls Out With Asteroids Easter Egg And Evidence Of Upcoming Screencasting Support [APK Teardown + Download]

Google's in-house competitor to game streaming service Twitch is now up and running. YouTube Gaming offers a specialized interface for watching live-streaming games, plus other content like Let's Play videos, with a live chat system and categories broken down into genres and individual games. The app is basically just a sub-section of YouTube, but for those who like this kind of thing, it's a very cool sub-section.

YouTube Gaming keeps you connected to the games, players, and culture that matter to you. Featuring videos and live streams with chat — including let's plays, reviews, speedruns, trailers, and more from your favorite gamers and publishers — you can explore the games you care about more deeply than ever before. With videos covering Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto, League of Legends, Call of Duty, Garry’s Mod, and tens of thousands more, it’s all on YouTube Gaming.

Focus

Android Police coverage: Francisco Franco's Focus Is A Beautiful, Responsive, Tag-Friendly, And Simple Media Gallery

Focus is a pretty standard gallery app with a snazzy interface and one killer feature: it's a snap to find any photo in local storage quickly. The app achieves this with a combination of tags that keep everything tidy. Though the design is simple, it goes deep with support for GIF files and videos. In-app purchases unlock extras like a dark theme and a PIN lock system that lets you hand your phone over to someone else without them instantly swiping to see your... other photos.

Focus is an incredible new kind of gallery, perfectly tuned for speed, efficiency, and ease of use. Tag your photos to keep them organized like never before using a first-of-its-kind tagging feature - choose from eleven preset tags, or create your own. Access any image, gif, or video on your device’s storage directly from the main screen, or dive deeper into your collections to quickly find photos by date.

Microsoft Translator

Android Police coverage: Microsoft Translator And Google Translate Compared: Is There A New Challenger In The House?

Microsoft Translator is... well, it's a translator app from Microsoft. It does most of the things you'd expect it to, translating voice or text to and from 50 different languages at present. It also looks really good and comes with baked-in support for Android Wear, so you don't need to pull your phone out every five minutes when you're travelling. Want to know if it's better than Google Translate? Then hit the link above.

Microsoft Translator helps you break the language barrier whenever you’re traveling or have a need to translate anything in your daily life. Quickly translate phrases on your Android Wear device, or use the companion phone app when it’s more convenient.

• On your watch: Speak to your watch and get an instant translations in 50 languages

• Not sure how to pronounce the translation? Let Translator speak the phrase for you.

• Noisy environment? Just show someone your watch or phone. In addition, on the phone, large full-screen translation cards make it easy to show others what you're trying to communicate

• Bookmark your translations for later use

Robinhood

Android Police coverage: Robinhood Free Stock Market Trading App Comes To Android

Robinhood is an app and a service that allows you to make free stock trades. (That is, the process is free - you still have to pay for the actual stocks.) Surprisingly, it also has a pretty fantastic user interface. The developers have incorporated the Material Design standards to an almost slavish degree. Other tools include watch lists, a PIN for security, and SSL encryption.

Free stock trading. Stop paying up to $10 for every trade. Robinhood for Android is a free download that allows people to buy and sell stocks for free. View market data in real-time, build a personalized watchlist, and place trades with a few taps.

  • Free trading refers to $0 commissions for Robinhood Financial self-directed individual cash or margin brokerage accounts that trade U.S. listed securities via mobile devices. SEC & FINRA regulatory fees may apply.
  • Access market data and quotes in real-time
  • Build a personalized stock watchlist with historical market data and detailed charts
  • Place market, limit, stop loss, stop limit, and good till canceled orders
  • Quickly tell when the markets are open and closed, with simple color schemes
  • Ninja Snap

    Android Police coverage: Ninja Snap Trolls Friends Who Swipe Through Your Photos With Instant Selfies And Kanye... Lots Of Kanye "Here, check out this photo of my adorable puppy - no, don't swipe! You'll see all my por... pooork chop recipes. Yeah." Ninja Snap actively discourages your friends from quickly swiping through your photos by allowing them to see only a few, then replacing them with photos of themselves stealthily snapped with the front-facing camera. It's disconcerting as all get out. Also, there is Kanye West. For some reason. We all have that douchebag friend who likes to casually invade our privacy. You try and show them a photo on your phone and they just swipe away through your whole album uninvited. Open Ninja Snap:
    • choose a few photos from your device with the help of a Gallery like screen
    • give it to your victim
    • they're gonna start to stroll away through your album like it ain't no thang
    • they'll be randomly greeted with photos of themselves that were stealthily taken while they were abusing your phone
    • Boxer Calendar

      Android Police coverage: Boxer Launches Their Own Calendar App With 'Send Availability' Feature Integration With Email Client Boxer Calendar is an alternative to built-in calendars that actually looks pretty good. In addition to all the standard calendary goodies and an impressive Material Design implementation, the app includes a "send availability" feature that allows you to quickly schedule events with other users of Boxer Calendar and Boxer Email. The app supports synchronization with Google and Exchange calendars. The Official Boxer Calendar app for Android phones and tablets. Brought to you from the team nominated for the 2015 Webby Award for Best Mobile Productivity App. Calendar brings the beauty of Material Design and the well-known ease and usability from Boxer Email to help you schedule your life with ease and style. View all of your calendars in one place and always know your availability. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boxer.calendar

      Honorable Mentions

      That's it for August. We're expecting some big changes from Google in the next couple of months, in update form if not in new apps, so stay tuned to our regular coverage. Remember that apps specifically for Android Wear are tracked separately here on Android Police; we're due for a new one in the next week or two.