Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous two weeks or so. Today I have a new app from Google designed to help those with disabilities communicate, the arrival of a new health app from Samsung, and the launch of a gorgeous live wallpaper app. So without further ado, here are all of the new and notable Android apps released on the Play Store in the last two weeks.
Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Apps
Project Activate
Android Police coverage: Crack a smile, because Android's new face gesture accessibility controls are official
Project Activate is a new app from Google designed to help those with disabilities communicate. This is primarily aimed at those who can't use their mouth or hands or talk, and so this app provides commands for facial expressions that the user will make to chose words and phrases on the screen. This way, those with disabilities can easily communicate, and best of all, this app makes it easy to send texts and make calls since it also supports text-to-speech. With all the deserved flack Google gets in areas like search and YouTube, it's great to see the company can still create tools that make people's lives better.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
FUNetix 12 Hour Reading App
FUNetix 12 Hour Reading App is an older release, but seeing that it just crossed my radar, I wanted to toss it into my weekly app roundup. This is, of course, an app designed to teach children how to read, and it's completely free. No advertisements or in-app purchases, plus the lessons are relatively straightforward, resulting in an intuitive app that any kid should be able to pick up and have fun with.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Sky News
Sky News is a streaming app designed for Android TV, sporting an all-new UI for this brand-new listing. So if you're the sort that just has to watch 24/7 news, happen to live in the UK, and enjoy Sky's content, then this is indeed the ATV news app for you.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
OpenSea: NFT marketplace
Consumerism has hit the point that we, as a species, are now creating nonfudgeable digital content, all so people can buy and sell content that can't be copied. I have no idea why anyone would spend money on images that can't be copied, as this all looks like a massive waste of money for a ridiculous fad, and yet somebody has created an app where people can show off their collections. OpenSea is described as a marketplace, but there's no buying or selling going on, as this is a social app for following creators and showing off collections. Perhaps I'm too old to "get it," or maybe NFTs are completely ridiculous. I suppose it's up to you to decide.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps
Samsung Health
Samsung Health is a fresh health app from Samsung that ties into its Galaxy line of smartwatches, all thanks to Google's option Fit not cutting it for most users. This is why TicWatch offers its own health app, so it's hardly surprising to see Samsung cleaning up after Google as well. More or less, if you're the sort that wants to put all those Wear sensors in the Galaxy Watch 4 to work, then you're going to want to use this app to keep the stats from all of those sensors neatly organized. So far, this release looks to be incompatible with all of my devices, though it has already racked up millions of installs, so most people will find this app pre-installed, though it seems clear Samsung will soon be updating this app through the Play Store.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Hand Wash
Hand Wash is the latest app from Samsung exclusively for its Galaxy Watch 4 devices. As you can see, this is an app that can sense when you wash your hands, and it also offers reminders to wash if you forget. Thanks to Covid, people will assuredly find this app useful, though you have to laugh at the premise that people can't remember something as simple as washing their hands.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Ready For
Ready For is a new release from Motorola for those who want to connect their phone to their PC in order to receive alerts and transfer files with ease. Why every single manufacturer feels the need to offer connection apps like this probably has a lot to do with a lack of features in the OS, and so the manufacturers have to clean up Google's mess in order to offer acceptable and notable features that should already exist as standards built into mobile operating systems.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
MyASUS for Chromebook
MyASUS for Chromebook is a portal to all things Asus, and it only runs on Chromebooks, so the name is appropriate. More or less, you can use this app to explore the latest Asus news, research new products, and of course, contact support for help should an Asus product you own suffer from unexpected issues. Best of all, you can even purchase Asus products directly through this app, cutting out the middle man, a worthwhile convenience.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Knox Settings VPN Plug-in
Knox Settings VPN Plug-in is exactly that, a VPN plugin for Samsung's secure mobile platform Knox. This looks to be an early release, judging by the description that reads like a developer comment. More or less, this is for enterprise users on the Knox platform.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Live Wallpapers
Chroma Galaxy Live 4K Wallpapers
Chroma Galaxy offers a collection of live wallpapers, 20, to be exact, and they all look great. If you like what you see, you can pay to unlock the rest of the app, which means you'll have 250+ live wallpapers at your disposal spread across 16 separate categories. So far, reviews are positive, and I have to say I agree. This is a fantastic live wallpaper app, whether you use it for free or pay to unlock its full capabilities.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs $3.49 apiece
Scrolling Icons Live Wallpaper
Scrolling Icons Live Wallpaper is an early access release that already offers some slick live wallpapers. There's a host of settings to customize the look of your scrolling wallpaper, where you can adjust the size, transparency, and color of your icons, as well as the background color. You can even pick how many frames per second you would like the scrolling to animate, which is helpful to conserve battery. Best of all, the app is free, so now is the best time to check it out.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
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.
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