Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

AccuBattery

Today's roundup is presented by AccuBattery from Digibites. Barring any accidents, the battery is the part of your phone that generally wears out the fastest, so it pays to keep an eye on its health. AccuBattery tests your battery's effective capacity in milliamp-hours to see if it's deteriorated, including tools for live reporting and battery life projections. The Battery Alarm feature tells users when to stop charging to make the usable life of your phone even longer.

AccuBattery is the only battery app that measure your battery capacity (mAh) in your device and help you to protect your battery health. Batteries only have a limited amount of charging cycles. Every time you charge your device, it wears out your battery capacity. Scientific research shows that battery life can be extended by 200%, when you charge your device to only 80%. AccuBattery measures the actual battery usage via the battery charge controller during the time an app is in the foreground. Android calculates battery usage using profiles that device manufacturers provide, like how much power the CPU uses, but in practice, these numbers are highly inaccurate.

- Measure real battery capacity in mAh

- Use the battery charge alarm to prolong battery health

- See how much wear the battery sustains with each charge session

- Look up the discharge speed and battery consumption per app

- See how long it takes before your battery is charged (remaining charge time)

- See when you will run out of battery (remaining battery time)

- Screen on or screen off estimations

- percentage of deep sleep when the device is in standby mode

- Ongoing notification for quick access to real time battery statistics

- Real time CPU and battery usage overlay for spotting battery draining processes.

- Access to historical data of more than 1 day.

- Detailed battery statistics in notification

Accu​Battery Developer: Digibites
Price: Free
4.7
Download

Apps

Google Duo

Android Police review: Google Duo review: When video calls are this simple, I will surely use them more

You knew this one was coming. Google's new video calling app is live on the Play Store and here to work on your Android phone and your parents' iPhones too. The interface is much easier to manage than Hangouts video calls and the quality is higher, but it doesn't include some of the more advanced telephony tools. The "Knock Knock" feature, which allows users to see callers even before they pick up, is cool... so long as you trust the person on the other end.

Duo is a one-to-one video calling app for everyone – designed to be simple, reliable and fun so you never miss a moment. Pick a loved one and jump right in, with a simple interface that brings video to the forefront. See the caller before you pick up with Duo’s live preview feature. Experience faster and more reliable video calls whether you’re on Wi-Fi or on-the-go. Video call all your friends across Android and iOS with just one simple app.

Google Meet Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
4.5
Download

Inkwire Screen Share + Assist

Android Police coverage: Koush's new screen-sharing app Inkwire is available in beta on the Play Store

Inkwire is an excellent remote access tool for Android devices, not just for fixing your grandma's tablet, but for teaching her how you did it (so hopefully you don't have to do it again). The system works with an access code, very much like TeamViewer, and users can draw on the remote screen and use voice chat at the same time. Very cool. The app is in beta at the moment - join this Google+ community, then opt-in on the Play Store.

Ever wanted to give another Android user a hand? Inkwire lets you easily share your screen to another Android user. With just a couple clicks, you can request to view another user's Android. Once connected, you can optionally start a voice chat, and draw on their screen to guide them through their issue. Great for:

  • Helping friends and family out with phone troubles
  • Customer support for Android apps
  • Teaching new Android users

FAST Speed Test

Android Police coverage: Netflix publishes a dedicated Android app for its FAST Speed Test

Netflix made a speed test website so that its users could test a direct connection to their servers, instead of more established sites like SpeedTest.net. The point is that you can see if your provider is throttling Netflix's performance. The mobile app isn't much - it's basically just a wrapper on the site, which already works fine in a mobile browser - but it's nice to have an alternative.

Use the fast.com application to help you see how fast your internet connection is, whether on mobile or broadband, anywhere in the world. It is ad free with a streamlined design that is quick and easy to understand.

FAST Speed Test Developer: Netflix, Inc.
Price: Free
4.2
Download

FordVR

Android Police coverage: FordVR brings behind-the-scenes VR racing videos to your phone

Ford wants to sell you some cars, and to demonstrate why, they want to show you some race cars. Its VR app shows off some pretty sweet video from various Ford-sponsored racing teams, which for some reason they didn't actually include in a video in the Play Store description. (Come on, Ford, really?) Video works with VR headsets or in fullscreen mode.

Be there. From anywhere. Welcome to an extraordinary new virtual reality experience that’s the closest thing to the real thing. Go behind the scenes, see automotive superstars in action and get behind the wheel with this 360-degree view into the world of Ford. Join us on a series of globe-spanning adventures that will take you from the future of transportation technology to the finish line and beyond.

skyler — fashion x weather

Android Police coverage: [100% Chance of Pants] New weather app matches questionable fashion with current conditions

Do you need help dressing yourself in the morning? Do you often find yourself trying to wade through floodwaters without appropriately high pant cuffs? Then Skyler would like a word. This weather app suggests fashion ensembles (for both men and women) based on the local weather in your area. It's kind of endearing and insulting at the same time.

Skyler is the world's first true fashion-weather app. A visual weather experience unlike any other, Skyler delivers inspiring, accurate styling suggestions based on your local weather conditions, to help you get ready for the day. No more headaches trying to wrap your mind around how to dress for the constantly changing weather. Skyler takes into account a variety of factors to deliver precise weatherwear recommendations: from apparent temperature, to chance of rain, to time of day and even wind speed.

Nenamark3

Android Police coverage: Nenamark 3 is an oddly fascinating but also hilariously terrible benchmark app

Nenamark is a well-known supplier of benchmarking tools for computers and mobile devices. Its latest effort... well, it leaves a lot to be desired. The tool actually attempts to create a basic game for some super-simple user engagement, but some of the basic methodology is flawed - there's no correction for different resolutions, and the scoring system is unhelpful.

Nenamark3 is a benchmark that tests the 3D-graphics capabilities of a device. It does so using the OpenGL|ES interface and takes advantage of advanced features when available. In contrast to other benchmarks NenaMark3 gradually makes a scene more and more complex until the device is no longer able to render it at 60 fps. Each iteration of increased complexity is reported as a game-like level which makes it easy to compare different devices. This also allows for nice comparison between very different devices.

smartWake

Here's the latest attempt to re-create the great always-on screen mode from earlier Motorola phones, and this one comes from veteran developer Jawomo. SmartWake seems to work well enough, faithfully turning the screen on when your phone is picked up and offering a "face wake" option that waits for a glance instead. The standard app has a few ads to support the developer, but you can also pay a buck and a half for the premium option to get rid of them.

With smartWake you can easily wake the screen of your phone without pressing any buttons. No need for tap to wake or similar. Just pick it up to turn the screen on. Use the innovative face wake technology to wake the phone when you look at it.

• Wake the screen on pickup

• Face wake, turn the screen on when you look at the phone.

• Air control, turn the screen on or off by waving your hand over the phone

• Turn the screen off when the phone is in a pocket

• Wake the screen on notifications

• No need for tap to wake the screen anymore.

Nock Nock (BETA)

Nock Nock (go ahead and say it, I know you want to) is an administrator tool that reports on the uptime of your hosted website or server. Obviously it's not useful for everyone out there, but it's a fast and easy way to keep a constant eye on uptime - very handy if, say, your APK-hosting service is suddenly being hit with millions of Pokémon GO downloads. The tool is open source and in beta at the moment.

Nock Nock is a simple app which allows you to monitor your websites for maximum uptime. The app will automatically knock on the door of your websites (or web servers) on a chosen interval to make sure they are up and responding successfully. If something is wrong, you get a notification telling you so. How does it check if your server is up? An HTTP GET request is made, the response code is checked. Nock Nock can also do custom validation on the response, by searching for a term, or even by executing a custom block of JavaScript.

GatherNote

There's not shortage of notation apps available on Android, but GatherNote aims to appeal to explicitly technical users. Its photo-focused approach to taking notes and expanding on them is designed to quickly import and organize a lot of visual data at once. The photo notation system is especially impressive: users can add dimensions and addendums based on specific points in photos.

Your projects have photos, notes, and audio. How are you keeping it all organized? GatherNote is an easy to use, all-in-one app that is ideal for organizing your projects and keeping all the relevant information in one place. GatherNote goes beyond just being a repository for annotated pictures. With GatherNote, you can not only take photos and add notations, but you can also draw dimensions, record audio notes, and pin that information to the photo. And with the ability to nest pins inside of pins, this app is an extremely powerful tool for mapping outwhere you were and what you saw.

MenuSnap is like Wordlens, but exclusively for restaurant menus. If you're in a place serving food from a style or nationality that you're not familiar with, take a photo with MenuSnap and it will use optical character recognition to spot the relevant text. Then it will translate the food (if necessary) and provide contextual information and photos from the web. Neat.

Have you ever tried to order food at a foreign food establishment or fine dining restaurant and could not figure out what was on the menu because the food items were all in foreign languages and there were no images beside them? We're changing that by introducing MenuSnap, a new way to look at your menu. MenuSnap is an Android app that scans your food menu into a user-friendly interface for you to easily search and translate the food items.

Formulr

Motorsports fans would do well to check out Formulr, an app with a terrible name but some impressively wide coverage. The news feed covers pretty much every major car and bike race, and the rest of the app is dedicated to the social aspect of racing: users can follow teams and companies, Twitter-style, and post photos and videos from events to social networks. The statistics portion has an impressive back catalog of racing events to obsess over.

See what your favourite championships, manufacturers, drivers, riders, teams and circuits are up to every day. Follow your favourites to see their latest photos and videos. Discover something new with hundreds of championships worldwide. With Rally, Formula, Motorcycle, Touring, Sports, Rallycross and Motocross, there’s something for everyone. Instantly search for any event, championship, team, driver, rider, circuit and manufacturer in the world dating back to 1894.

AutoblogVR

Autoblog, one of the better-known car enthusiasts sites on the web, is offering an interesting new app. Some of their video content is now being recorded in 360 degrees, the better to be viewed on Cardboard, Gear VR, and the like. Most of the videos are recorded with a driver's eye view, a real treat for car nuts. If you don't have a headset you can watch the clips in fullscreen mode instead.

The team at Autoblog is thrilled to offer a whole new way to experience edge-of-seat automotive awesomeness, right on your device: in immersive, virtual reality video. Featuring exclusive 360º video content, take the driver’s seat in some of the world’s most famous and exotic rides for a one-of-a-kind viewing experience. Whether you’re at the top of snowy Pikes Peak in a convertible Mustang Ecoboost, or in Malibu cruising the PCH in a convertible Bentley Continental GTC, you won’t get much closer to feeling the wind in your face and smelling burning rubber.

This little tool is a themer for your navigation bar. If the stock black is a little boring for you, it could add a bit of variety. The app works with immersive mode and colors appropriately with apps that support the function. Naturally, it only works with phones that support a virtual nav bar.

Tired of your boring Navigation Bar? Make it awesome. Turn it blue, make it red - anything you want. Select cool image as background or match color automatically to fit it to running app. Whatever you choose, it will be awesome. And then add some data, like battery level. All of that with Navbar Apps.

Cine Browser for Video Sites

Cine Browser is a dedicated browser for video-heavy sites. Why would you want this over, say, a dedicated app for each site? Aside from the all-in-one convenience, the app includes a built-in ad blocker (which may or may not work with different HTML video implementations). Oh, and there's an incognito mode for, um, something that's totally not porn. Yeah. Videos can be viewed in a floating window.

Do you often visit websites that have a lot of videos ? Chances are you do because there are many popular video sites that don't have an Android app. Cine Browser is a browser dedicated to help you surfing those websites pleasantly with many unique features :

  • Popup video player : watch videos in a floating window while continue surfing the web. You can also use other apps without stopping the video.
  • Add videos to play list
  • Ad-blocker : block unwanted ads.
  • Incognito browsing : no history is saved.

DitchTV

DitchTV is odd. It's an interface for YouTube that's allegedly curated by experts, full of really neat stuff that you'll want to watch arranged in playlists. But the swipe-based interface will rub you the wrong way if you're expecting something more conventional, and the company's intent and partners are somewhat nebulous. At least the app looks good. Every video starts 30% in, which is supposed to let you know if you like it immediately, but I find it more confusing than helpful.

Handpicked playlists. Our curators' expertise helps entertain and inspire, bringing you what's new, what's great, and what's missing from your plate. Skip the intros. Every video starts 30% of the way in so you know what you're watching — and whether you want to keep watching — faster. Like it? Simply scrub back to the start. Simple controls. Swipe left and right through videos within a playlist. Swipe up and down through different playlists. Two-finger drag left or right to scrub through a video.

One Talk

Here's an app that's basically a VOIP service with Verizon branding. It's intended for remote workers to have an easy way to use their personal phones for work numbers without any complex or expensive routing systems. The tool is a lot like the Hangouts dialer - green theme and all - but it has more advanced tools for transfers and conferences. Naturally your company needs to be enrolled in One Talk to access the service.

One TalkSM from Verizon is a mobile-first business communications solution. With One Talk, every number in your business can be a Verizon Wireless number that works on all your mobile devices and office phones. There is no longer a need to manage separate business solutions for wired and mobile phones. One Talk allows you to run your business on mobile devices.

Notion - Thoughtful Email

Notion is an add-on for Gmail and other Google Apps for business features that tries to make email behave a little better. A lot of these add-ons are the kind that users of Google's own Inbox like, so it's a nice option if you'd like a blend of the two options. Unfortunately the notification and group too is in invite-only beta at the moment.

Wake up your email. Notion is available by INVITE ONLY at this time. Anyone can request an invitation on our website or from within the app. Add intelligence to your Gmail and Google Apps email accounts. For other email platforms (iCloud, Yahoo, Office 365, Exchange, etc.), tweet to us @notionapp and we will try to expedite your invitation. Notion is the first-ever intelligence layer for your email. It filters, highlights, and prompts you to focus on what matters most.

Operator: Shop Discover & Buy

Here's an odd one: a chat app where the only point is to get shopping advice. The idea is that you directly ask "tastemakers" (cringe) who are experts in their respective fields what you should buy. The app comes from the guys who made Uber, and while this kind of thing seems like it might be useful for indecisive users, I think I'll stick to doing my own shopping.

Operator connects you to tastemakers and experts to help you discover products you love. A community of real people help with recommendations and guidance to find the right products for you- for free. It's as easy as texting with a friend. Except that friend might be a celebrity stylist who can show you the hottest summer dresses or a pro marathon runner who can recommend the right sneaker.

Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps

Use Cardboard apps for Gear VR

Android Police coverage: This new $1 app lets you use Cardboard apps on the Samsung Gear VR, no root required

More apps should be cross-compatible with the Cardboard and Samsung's GearVR. And now they are! In one direction, at least - this app lets you launch Cardboard apps while your phone is plugged into the Gear VR, something Samsung's phones aren't capable of doing by default. Best of all, it doesn't need root. Now we just need something to make GearVR apps work on Cardboard.

From the developer of EZ Package Disabler, AZ Screen Recorder, Acapella Maker with 10 millions of users worldwide. Use Cardboard apps for Gear VR is the easiest way to use any cardboard apps such as Youtube or other apps/games that are exclusive for the Play Store on your Gear VR headset. Only 1 tap is required to switch between the default Gear VR mode and the Cardboard mode. This app also provides a simple widget so you can quickly choose either Cardboard mode or Gear VR mode directly on your home screen.

Logitech POP

Android Police coverage: Logitech POP is the button that controls your smart home

Logitech would would really like to get into that bulging home automation market, and it doesn't mind dipping its toe into other electronics companies' sandboxes to do it. The POP is a simple, inexpensive switch that can be programmed with three different functions for a host of connected devices - SONOS, Phillips' Hue lights, various door and light standards, and other cool stuff. This Android app lets you select functions and programs in a simple linear interface.

Now, smart home control is within everyone’s reach. Use Logitech POP to set the scene with lighting presets, Sonos favorites, and more. Use a single, double, or long press to control smart home devices—individually or in groups—or turn Harmony Activities on or off. Quickly and easily set up Logitech POP Home Switches from your Android smartphone. To get started, the POP app scans your home Wi-Fi network to find compatible devices you can control, such as smart lights, Sonos music players, or smart locks.

Logitech POP Developer: Logitech Europe S.A.
Price: Free
2.7
Download

Square Register Beta Preview

Square has a neat new mobile payment scanner that works with standard credit cards, chip-and-pin cards, and Android Pay. Here's the companion app.

Square Register is the free Android point-of-sale app that gives you everything you need to take payments and run your business. Accept debit and credit cards with a Square magstripe reader, and accept EMV chip cards and Android Pay with the new Square contactless and chip reader. Funds are deposited fast—see money in your bank account in one to two business days.

Samsung Notes

Samsung's Notes app is its branded alternative to things like Evernote, with some extra special sauce for its S-Pen stylus on the Note series. This updated version should keep older phones (and eventually newer ones) current thanks to the Play Store's agnostic distribution.

With Samsung Notes, you can create notes containing texts, images with footnotes, voice recordings, and music. Moreover, you can share your notes easily to SNS. Previously made any memos from S Note and Memo also can be imported into Samsung Notes. Samsung Notes provides various brush types and color mixers, so that you can draw fabulous paintings like professional painters. You may also share your paintings at PEN.UP right away.

Samsung Notes Developer: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Price: Free
4.8
Download

Samsung Connect Auto

Not to be outdone by Google and all, Samsung is now offering its own version of Auto. This isn't a head unit, it's an OBD tool (just like Automatic below) that can send information about your car to your phone. It includes an LTE connection and a Wi-Fi hotspot, which is a nice way to retrofit an older car.

This app supports Samsung Connect Auto service helping make your car safer, more efficient, and connected. It allows you to monitor your car remotely, drive safer and more efficiently, save money with fuel and vehicle health reports, go on-line from multiple devices using built-in Wi-Fi hotspot and LTE connectivity. This app requires Samsung Connect Auto device (OBD-II).

Automatic Pro

Automatic, the car data tool with the most in-Googleable name ever, has been around for a while. The standard "silver" adapter offers only basic ODB data, but the upgraded gold version includes an onboard 3G connection that's unlimited for life after the hefty $130 initial purchase. The app allows users to remotely access all the data they've recorded and locate their car when they forget where it's parked.

Automatic Pro is the only connected car adapter with unlimited 3G and GPS included. Requires the Automatic Pro adapter ($129) available at automatic.com. With Automatic Pro, your car is as smart as you are. Compatible with most cars sold in the US since 1996, Automatic Pro connects your car to the internet to help you and your family drive safer and be more secure.

Swarovski Activity Crystal

Fitness trackers and wearables need to function as both gadgets and, for at least some users, jewelry. The Swarovski Shine (made by the people at Misfit) leans towards the latter, and here's the official companion app. It can track steps, various sporting activities, and sleep, and the app will give you a historical view of your fitness-type stuff. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of social functionality, but some users (like me) might actually like that.

The Swarovski Activity Crystal is an elegant activity and sleep trackers that encourage and inspire you to live a more active life. Find out how active you are every day, and set goals to improve. Use the Swarovski Activity Crystal app to access these features:

  • Track your goals: Create a goal and track your running, cycling, swimming and more
  • Translate activities to understanding: See how your everyday activity translates to stats like steps, calories and distance
  • See trends: See your activity level over a day, week, or month change--and watch yourself improve
  • Sleep soundly: With Swarovski’s wearable devices, we’ll show you how you slept

Game Genie

Relax, old-school gamers, this isn't the resurgence of the famous Game Genie tool. Nope, it's a widget made by Asus for the company's phones that will do various "beneficial" things for playing games. The app includes a "booster" and a live broadcasting tool, plus links to official forums. How useful it is is, well, up to interpretation.

Game Genie is your ZenFone’s gaming ally. It’s a handy floating toolbar equipped with powerful gaming features that lets you enjoy in-game search, lag-free speeds and live broadcasting with just one tap.

  • Boost your device’s performance by removing unwanted data
  • Enjoy a lag-free gaming experience with just one tap
  • Live broadcast your moves live on YouTube or Twitch
  • Record your game play and share your best moments on social networks
  • Join the latest discussions via online forums
  • Check out the latest game cheats and how to’s
  • Plan your next move via video walkthroughs

GameBox Launcher beta

Why do you need a special launcher just for games? You don't. But Samsung thinks you do. This "console-style" launcher is designed to give some special visual flair to games from the Play Store, and it links to contextual information and gaming news. A few basic launcher features are thrown in just for good measure. It looks like the app is only compatible with recent Samsung phones.

GameBox Launcher takes the gaming experience to a whole new level for enthusiastic gamers with Galaxy smartphones. Check all your installed games in one place, customize cover images, and find information about games fast. If you want to use your smartphone like a game console, try GameBox Launcher. It makes running GameTuner and GameTools a lot easier too.

BIM 360 Team

Architects need some powerful iron to get most of their CAD work done, but every week we seem to get more options for simple viewing (and sometimes even light editing) on mobile. BIM 360 is the companion app for Autodesk's branded engineering software, and the mobile version includes built-in tools for viewing, sharing, and notation. Offline access is included, which is a nice touch.

BIM 360 Team is designed specifically for architects, engineers and project stakeholders to comment, markup and view 2D and 3D drawings and models. With 100+ file formats supported, BIM 360 Team allows you to upload and view any file, regardless of the software used to create it. Whether at the office or in the field, BIM 360 Team is the way to access your latest design and project information from anywhere.

WTF App(s) Of The Week

Shadow Ink: Trump vs Clinton

If you find that your nuanced political views can only be expressed in comic book caricature form, but you lack the skill to actually draw people, then this app is for you. It allows you to make sarcastic, multi-paneled comics with political and pop culture figures of the day. The format is basically a slightly more complex version of those photo caption contests, but I suppose it could be mildly amusing - the caricatures are surprisingly well-done, even if Trump's hands are too big.

Do you want to make a post with thousands of likes? Texts are dying, long live pics. Shadow Ink a is free, quick, and easy tool for making awesome pics for social networks – in minutes. You won't need ANY art skills to create a stunning comics. Our interface can be used by a five-year-old kid.

Уou will be able to:

  • respond to the latest news and memes
  • make fun of celebrities
  • get tons of likes and shares.

Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!

If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.

Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.

  • the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
  • it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop

Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: oh.no.its.the@androidpolice.com.

1 sponsored placement per week is available (your app would be featured at the top and marked as sponsored) - please contact us for details.