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's roundup is sponsored by RainViewer, a perfect app to plan your summer outings around seasonal summer storms. This week I have a unique live wallpaper app from OnePlus and the arrival of Jetpack, an app that can help bloggers backup their WordPress sites on the go. So without further ado, here are all of the new and notable Android apps and live wallpapers released on the Play Store in the last two weeks.

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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

RainViewer

The warmer seasons are known for severe storms, and if you don't have a reliable weather app to clue you in to what's happening outside, you could be caught off guard. RainViewer is a full-featured weather radar app that provides detailed visual storm information, weekly forecasts, and location-based rain alerts for your area. With thousands of radars spread across 90 different countries, you can even tune into specific radars for more precise readings. RainViewer is available for free with ads via the Play Store, and you can upgrade to the Premium version with no ads, faster radar map updates, and more for $2.99 a month (or $14.99 a year).

Weather RainViewer Developer: MeteoLab
Price: Free
4.1
Download

Apps

Jetpack

If you'd like to control your WordPress backups on the go remotely, then you'll be happy to learn Jetpack has released a fresh app on Android this week. This way, you'll be able to scan for issues on the go while also having the ability to back up your site whenever you want. This is an early access release, so it's still a work in progress, though the core features you'd expect are already in there and should come in handy when out and about.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Seeneva: smart comic book reader

Seeneva is a new open-source comic book reader. You have to sideload your books, so this isn't a store, but it does offer some unique features, such as optical character recognition and text-to-speech. The OCR is useful for bubble-to-bubble navigation, and while it's not yet perfect, the feature shows promise. The app even supports ComicRack metadata, so if you're looking to bring over your collection from the defunct mobile ComicRack app, you can. Really, the biggest downside is that moving your files to Seeneva is a little more cumbersome than it should be, but hopefully it will be sorted shortly.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Seeneva: smart comic reader Developer: RustyCoder
Price: Free
3.2
Download

Imaginactive - At Home Workouts

Imaginactive - At Home Workouts is the latest exercise app to gamify working out. The first episode is free for everyone to check out, but of course, you'll have to pay for the rest if you like what you see. There are three types of workouts on offer, and they all revolve around a story where you play the part of a secret agent tasked with saving London. So if you're the sort that needs an incentive to work out, perhaps Imaginactive - At Home Workouts will provide the boost you need.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs $6.49 apiece

The Sky by Redshift: Astronomy

The Sky by Redshift: Astronomy is precisely that, an astronomy app for Android. Open the app, point your camera at the sky, and you can learn all about what's up there. So if you've ever wondered where Mars is in the sky or where the ISS station is located, then this is the app for you. The app is beginner-friendly, and it also offers features for seasoned skywatchers, though the premium subscription is a bit of a turn-off. You'd have to be really into astronomy to pay for that, but at least these subs are pretty cheap.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs $2.99 apiece

The Sky by Redshift: Astronomy Developer: USM
Price: Free
4.3
Download

ente

If you're looking for a bit more security for your photo storage needs, then perhaps ente will help you do just that. This is an app where you can organize and back up your photos, all while encrypting them. This way, nobody will be able to view your photos without a password, which is an excellent feature when storing your photos in the cloud.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $14.99

ente Photos Developer: Ente Technologies, Inc.
Price: Free
4.1
Download

Solid Starts: Introducing Real Food to Babies

Solid Starts is a well-known website that contains all sorts of information about getting your baby onto solid foods, and this is the official app for that site. So if you're a mom or dad on the go and are just starting to feed your baby solids, perhaps this app will fill the void of the website as you run errands. This way, you won't have to worry about which foods are safe. You'll have an accessible guide on hand with this release.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $9.99

Solid Starts Developer: Solid Starts
Price: Free
2.9
Download

BSP Comics

BSP Comics is the official app for Black Sands Entertainment, an indie comic book publisher. This is a publisher that promises high-quality works from its creators, with a focus on the legacies of African ancestors. The app is somewhat annoying to use since you can't mute the music in the background, and the weird gacha mechanics used for unlocking new chapters is ridiculous gamification that doesn't belong in a comic book reader, though it's interesting to see a publisher trying out a different way to push its digital comics. All in all, BSP Comics is a mixed bag, though it's worth a look since it's trying a few different things to advance the medium.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs ?

Volume Scheduler - Auto change volume levels

Volume Scheduler is just that, and auto-scheduler for your volume levels. As you can imagine, nobody wants their phone's alarms to sound when important things are going on, such as a business meeting, and so you can schedule the periods your alarms can sound with this app. This way, you can schedule your alarms with abandon once you've set your daily quiet periods within this app, which means you'll no longer have to worry about hearing an annoying tone at an inopportune moment.

Monetization: $1.49 / contains ads / no IAPs

Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps

Sphero Edu Jr

Sphero Edu Jr is a tie-in app for the Sphero indi, a product for children designed to promote computational thinking. Kids can use the programmable blocks presented in the app to control the indi car, essentially teaching very basic coding concepts in order to get the desired results after plugging in a set of instructions. So if you're looking for a fun educational toy for your children, the Sphero indi and this tie-in app may be right up your alley.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Sphero Edu Jr Developer: Sphero Inc.
Price: Free
4.2
Download

Live Wallpapers

WellPaper

Android Police coverage: This new live wallpaper tracks your app usage in real time

OnePlus has combined the usefulness of a wellness app with a live wallpaper, all to present a visual representation of your use on a screen you'll view frequently. Each color has a corresponding app type, and so you can easily see how often each type of app category is used throughout your day. It's a slick app that makes for a great minimal live wallpaper, and best of all, you don't even need a OnePlus device to use it.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Dots

Dots is the latest live wallpaper from maxelus, one of the few devs out there still creating exceptional-looking live wallpaper apps. As you can see, this release offers all sorts of patterns that display dots and other effects on your screen, all of which you can customize if you unlock the entirety of the app's features through an in-app purchase. Of course, you're free to take this app for a spin with a limited feature set to see how it looks on your screen before you spend any cash.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $1.49

Dots Developer: maxelus.net
Price: Free
4.1
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.

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