Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous two weeks or so. Today I have an AR release from Childish Gambino, a new Playmoji pack filled with Pokémon, and a virtual reality release built around a short story by Philip K. Dick. So without further ado, here are the most notable Android apps released in the last two weeks.

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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Apps

PHAROS AR

Android Police coverage: Google invites you to explore Childish Gambino's trippy world in new AR game [APK Download]

PHAROS AR is an augmented reality app from Childish Gambino (otherwise known as Donald Glover). Like the majority of AR releases, how well this app will work is entirely dependent on your environment, so outdoor use on a sunny day is recommended. The core of PHAROS AR offers a unique experience where you hunt down hidden glyphs in your surroundings that will unlock more environments as well as new music from Childish Gambino.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Playground: POKÉMON Detective Pikachu

Android Police coverage: Ryan Reynolds immortalizes himself in digital art as a new Pokemon Detective Pikachu AR Playmoji

Playground: POKÉMON Detective Pikachu is a new Playmoji pack for Playground that ties into a Pokémon live-action movie landing in theatres next weekend. You can play around with the Pokémon in the app through the use of augmented reality, which can get a little creepy, all thanks to the app's inclusion of sound bites from the voice actors in the aforementioned movie. So if you've ever felt like poking Pikachu's voice actor Ryan Reynolds in the tummy to see what sound he makes, this is indeed the app for you.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Sphaera - 4K, HD Map Wallpapers & Backgrounds

It's been a while since I covered one of these map wallpaper apps, thanks to their remarkably similar functionalities, but Sphaera was just too pretty to pass up. It's a premium app sans any in-app purchases, which makes for a pleasant user experience since you won't have to deal with any distractions when designing and setting a map-based wallpaper.

Monetization: $0.99 / no ads / no IAPs

Sphaera - 4K, HD Map Wallpaper Developer: Ammodo Labs
Price: 2.49
4.2
Download

The Great C

The Great C is a Daydream release, and it offers a short virtual reality sci-fi experience that's based around a short story by Philip K. Dick. Mainly this release plays out as a VR short film that should last around thirty minutes or so. The experience is quite enthralling, though the price tag is a little much considering most people are only going to watch it a couple of times.

Monetization: $5.99 / no ads / no IAPs

The Great C Developer: Secret Location Inc.
Price: 5.99
Download

Skit

Skit is an APK extraction app that even works with system apps. The title is entirely free to use, though if you'd like to unlock a few themes, detailed stats, and bulk extractions/deletions, you'll have to purchase the separate premium version for $2.49. Luckily the majority of users won't have a need for those functions.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Skit - apps manager Developer: Pavlo Rekun
Price: Free
4.3
Download

Cosmic JUJU

Cosmic JUJU is a feel-good app designed to encourage its users through sharing their feelings and goals with strangers. The developers of the app aim to provide a judgment-free zone, though I'm sure if people discussed and admitted their inner-most secrets and depravities, things would get shut down pretty fast. Still, if you're looking for a self-esteem boost when talking about any topic, Cosmic JUJU offers the perfect superficial atmosphere to do just that.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Librem Chat

Librem has released a subscription bundle called Librem One. It serves as a host of ethical services, and so the company has published a handful of apps on the Play Store that ties into the subscription. The first app that I'm going to cover is called Librem Chat, which is apparently a fork of Riot-Android, which is a Matrix client. So if you've been looking for a safety-conscientious chat app, you should probably take a look at Librem Chat.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Librem Chat Developer: Purism SPC
Price: Free
3.6
Download

Librem Social

The next Librem app in the list is called Librem Social, and it's a client that can log into the Mastodon social service. It's also apparently a fork of Tusky. The odd thing is, the app description barely covers what these things are, so unless you are super familiar with Mastodon, its clients, and how they work together, the Play Store description is going to sound like gibberish. At the very least it would appear that you can use this release for free without the need to subscribe to the Librem One service.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Librem Social Developer: Purism SPC
Price: Free
2.9
Download

Librem Tunnel

Librem Tunnel is the next Librem app on today's list, and this release serves as an end-to-end encrypted VPN tunnel. You'll be able to encrypt your network traffic and hide your IP address, all while retaining high speeds and unlimited bandwidth, and you'll be able to do this on up to 5 devices.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Librem Tunnel Developer: Purism SPC
Price: Free
4.4
Download

Librem Mail

Librem Mail is the next up, and it is, of course, an email client. It supports IMAP and POP3 accounts and can even encrypt and sign your emails with OpenKeychain. It's a fork of K-9 mail, so there really aren't any new features as of yet, but they may come with time when more people subscribe to and use the new Librem One service.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Librem Mail Developer: Purism SPC
Price: Free
3.5
Download

Librem One

The Librem One app collects every other Librem app listed today in a single place. This way you'll have easy access to all of your Librem apps. Past this functionality, there really isn't much else to see. Just think of the Librem One app as your one stop shop for all your mobile Librem needs.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Librem One Developer: Purism SPC
Price: Free
3.5
Download

Disqus

I find it surprising the Disqus still doesn't offer an official, though Try&Catch's unofficial Disqus app sure makes for an acceptable solution. This release provides access to the main features of the commenting service, such as access to your notifications, comments, trends, channels, forums, and articles. The app's design is clean, which makes it easy to use, which is especially notable for an unofficial release.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs

Pokémon Pass

I debated even including Pokémon Pass, thanks to its abusive sign-in method that forces all users to accept marketing communications (email spam) from The Pokémon Company, but I figured there may still be a few people that are okay with forced spam, and so I wanted to make sure all of our readers have been warned. The app itself offers a QR scanner that can unlock promotional Pokémon advertised at specific retail shops, but for some reason that QR scanner is hidden behind three separate menus, so don't expect any ease of use features to go along with your spam.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs

Artwalls - Wallpapers (AMOLED mnml)

We've covered a few YASAN wallpaper apps in our roundups in the past, and Artwalls is the latest release from the developer that collects a bunch of slick looking designs in one place. Artwalls is meant to serve as the successor to AMOLED mnml, and there are many different collections of wallpapers to choose from, each with different styles. So regardless of your tastes, you should be able to find something that appeals to you.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $9.99

Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps

FreedomVoice

FreedomVoice is a release that can connect to existing FreedomVoice customer accounts so that its users can use their mobile phone to take and make business calls. You can choose to show your work number when you call your contacts, and the app even supports voice mails and faxes. Of course, you'll first have to be a FreedomVoice customer to take advantage of the app, so unless your workplace uses FreedomVoice, you can go ahead and skip this listing.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

WTF App Of The Week

Fartr

Android Police coverage: Let it rip: Fartr is the toot analyzer you never knew you wanted

Rita has quite the knack for finding the most WTF apps out there, and this week she sure found a doozy. The app is called Fartr, and it was designed from the ground up to analyze farts that are recorded through your phone's mic. Your fart will be judged by four criteria — pitch, duration, volume, meter — and given a score. The entire app is in jest of course, but even when considering this fact, it's still quite surprising that it's taken this long for someone to create an algorithm that can rate farts.

Monetization: $1.99 / no ads / no IAPs

Fartr Developer: Fuori, LLC
Price: 1.99
4.4
Download

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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