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 week or so. Today I have an awesome app from Google Creative Lab that allows people to use their eyes to highlight text. I also have a few Synology apps for managing the company's NAS systems as well as a couple of Samsung video drivers for the GPUs in the S20/N20 models. So without further ado, here are all of the new and notable Android apps released on the Play Store in the last week.
Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.
Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Apps
Look to Speak
Android Police coverage: Google's latest accessibility app lets your eyes do the talking
Look to Speak is an impressive app from Google Creative Lab that allows people to use their eyes to highlight pre-written phrases in order to have them spoken aloud by the app. Essentially this is an accessibility app, or at least the early development of one. While you can't use this awesome outside of this release just yet since the functionality is sandboxed within the app, it's proof Google has something cooking that should ideally help out those that live with communication disabilities.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Google Health Studies
Google Health Studies is a new tool from Google that makes it easy to contribute your health information to studies that are looking for research data. Supposedly your data will remain on your device, which means these studies you decide to help will only see aggregate data, so no names are attached. You can even volunteer for multiple studies, and you can also learn about the research findings from the studies you participate in.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Klima — Live carbon neutral
Klima — Live carbon neutral is an app that can calculate your carbon footprint, all so you can cut down on your CO2 emissions with ease. By identifying your problem areas, you'll be provided with a workable solution to cut your carbon output, which is a fine enough goal in and of itself. Of course, if people weren't forced to live within a system that encourages constant waste, perhaps it would be easier for all of use to cut the cord, as it were.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
FaceToon - Toonify your photo
FaceToon is an early access release that's essentially a photo editor. To be specific, this photo editor excels at turning people's images into cartoons. These cartoons offer something close to what Pixar would design, instead of 2D drawings, which is what I initially expected. So if you'd like to see what you and your friends will look like with a 3D animation filter over your images, this app provides precisely that.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Show4me - Discover and listen to new music
Show4me is the latest music app that allows listeners to follow their favorite artists for a mix of music and social media, all in one place. Ideally, this app is a one-stop-shop for all of your music needs. So whether you want to listen to a few tunes, purchase some concert tickets to see your favorite bands, or would simply like to discuss music with those that create it, Show4me has your back.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Rooster Teeth
Rooster Teeth is a streaming app from the company of the same name. That's right. The people behind Red vs. Blue now have their own streaming app for Android TV devices, and now that Rooster Teeth has a popular Anime property under its belt, I'm sure plenty of people will want to check out this release on supported Android TV devices, especially if they enjoy quirky cartoons.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Tangerine - Habit and mood tracker
Tangerine is labeled as a habit and mood tracker, but this release is more like a personal journal where you'll organize upcoming tasks while the app gamafies your content. Ideally, this will encourage people to use the app daily, thus recording their habits for an easily digestible overview of their ongoing mood. So if you're the sort that has to catalog every waking moment so an app can judge you, I say go for it and give this release a spin.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $2.49 - $29.99
PhotoRoom - Remove Background & Create Pro Photos
PhotoRoom is an interesting photo editor that can remove the backgrounds from your photos so that you can easily create new images from the items isolated from these photos. So say you'd like to remove the background in an image that highlights a shoe, you can do that, and then you're free to use that isolated image in any of your other photo projects.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs $46.99 apiece
Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps
Synology Photos
Android Police coverage: Synology’s new Photos app goes live ahead of a big DiskStation Manager v7.0 redesign
Synology Photos is a tie-in app for Synology NAS products. so you'll have to own the equipment to make use of this release. As you can imagine, this is an app for managing your photos that are stored on a Synology NAS, and you can even back up your photos from your phone to your NAS with ease. So if you use a Synology NAS and would like an app that can display and organize these photos, Synology Photos is what you're looking for.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Synology Active Insight
Android Police coverage: Synology’s new Photos app goes live ahead of a big DiskStation Manager v7.0 redesign
You guessed it, Synology Active Insight is another tie-in release for Synology NAS systems. In particular, this is a health monitoring tool, so if you're interested in keeping track of your Synology NAS products' performance while you are out and about, this is the app you'll need. As expected, this is a free release, just like the other two Synology apps in the roundup this week.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Synology Secure SignIn
Android Police coverage: Synology’s new Photos app goes live ahead of a big DiskStation Manager v7.0 redesign
Much like the above app Synology Secure SignIn is a tie-in release for Synology's NAS products, and as expected, this app works as a secure log-in tool. There are two different sign-in methods on offer, approve sign-in and verification code, and both can be used as two-factor authentication should you feel the need to further secure your Synology account.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Samsung GameDriver - Adreno (S20/N20)
Android Police coverage: Samsung's new GameDriver promises better gaming performance on your S20 and Note20 (APK Download)
Synology isn't the only one with multiple apps released this week, and so Samsung GameDriver - Adreno is a new driver for Samsung S20 and N20 devices. As you would expect, this particular driver is for Adreno devices, and it should ideally improve your gaming performance on the S20 and N20.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Samsung GameDriver - Mali (S20/N20)
Android Police coverage: Samsung's new GameDriver promises better gaming performance on your S20 and Note20 (APK Download)
The Samsung GameDriver - Mali app is for those that use the S20 or N20 with a Mali chip. Much like the Adreno version above, this driver is designed to help improve gaming performance on the Mali versions of the S20 and N20. So far, user reviews appear to be happy with the driver, especially since this is a familiar setup for PC gamers, updating drives to keep new and demanding games playable.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Mi Mover
Mi Mover is a new release from Xiaomi, and just like many other smartphone manufacturers, this is an app designed to help you move your data from your old device to your new and shiny Xiaomi phone. So if you've ever used a similar app, you should know exactly what to expect from this release. More or less, if you'd like to retain your data when switching to a Xiaomi device, this is the app you'll need.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Samsung Knox Capture
Samsung Knox Capture is an enterprise app that serves as a barcode scanner solution, data wedge, and a keyboard wedge, as if regular people even know what the hell a wedge is. So unless you require enterprise-grade tools for your barcode scanning needs, you can skip this release. Of course, if you're business-oriented and require secure tools, then you may want to take a look at Samsung's solutions.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Nike Athlete Studio
Nike Athlete Studio is a new app from Nike that will allow athletes and influencers to share personal stories with the company, like some kind of social media for celebrities that's only for Nike's eyes. So unless you're a famous athlete or influencer that regularly works with Nike, you can skip this listing.
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.
1 sponsored placement per week is available (your app would be featured at the top and marked as sponsored) - please contact us for details.