Steam Link for iOS and Android was released last week, allowing users to stream games from a local desktop PC to their phone. We reviewed the Android version, and it's an impressive app despite still being in beta. Apple has now removed Steam Link from the iOS and Apple TV stores, leaving Android as the only platform with the application.
Read MoreGoogle Play narrows consumer spending gap versus iOS App Store in Q1 2018
Despite Android's considerably larger install base, on average, users spend more money on the iOS App Store than they do Google Play. According to a report from app market data analysis firm App Annie, though, the gap has narrowed. Consumer spending on apps from Google Play grew by 25 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2018, compared to a year-over-year growth of 20 percent on the iOS App Store during the same period.
Read MoreThe Play Store hit 19 billion downloads in Q4 2017, increasing its lead over Apple's App Store to 145%
People are downloading more apps than ever. According to App Annie, the Google Play Store saw over 19 billion downloads in Q4 2017, with year-over-year growth at 10%. That's around 145% more than the Apple App Store, which garnered around 7.7 billion downloads. That being said, the App Store still blew the Play Store away in terms of revenue.
Read MoreAndroid is expected to pass iOS in app store revenue this year
Historically, iOS has always topped Android in terms of app revenue. There are several reasons for this - the vast majority of Android devices are cheap phones (owners of low-end phones aren't as likely to pay a premium for apps), piracy is much easier, etc. But according to a report from App Annie, that could finally change this year.
Read MoreThere are more 'Education' apps than any other category on the Play Store, and other weird stats from 42matters
42matters is an analysis firm that monitors broad trends on mobile data, specifically on the Play Store and the App Store. The company is mostly B2B, that is, most of their products are only helpful if you're working on some other aspect of the mobile market. But they've made a sliver of the data they've collected through their API free to the public, and it's fascinating. While the 42matters data isn't official, it does give us an interesting look into the Play Store as a whole.
Read MoreBarnes & Noble To Shut Down Its Nook App And Video Stores, But Will Continue Selling eBooks In The US
Well you can't say they didn't give it a good try. After years of attempting to break into the lucrative tablet market with its own semi-exclusive platform, US bookseller Barnes & Noble plans to halt digital sales on its app and video stores. Diginomica reports that the company will stop sales on March 15th (Tuesday), and that customers who've bought content from either location have until then to download their apps and videos one last time. Connecting Nook Video content to accounts for either Disney Movies Anywhere or CinemaNow will allow customers to retain streaming and download rights on other platforms.
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Automatic Opens Up An App Store For Automobiles, Brings A New Developer SDK And 2nd Gen Adapter Along For The Ride
Automatic wants to make your drive smarter. Or it wants to make you a smarter driver. Or it's only for smart drivers. Moving on, the company that makes its own proprietary Bluetooth dongle to offer real-time feedback and log your trips has announced a new phase for its car-centric project—it's opening an app store.
The Automatic App Gallery is a place for developers to drop apps that integrate with the Automatic adapter. Right now there are over twenty apps available, including software from the likes of Expensify, IFTTT, Jawbone UP, Nest, and Pebble.
To put content in an app store, developers need tools.
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Apple Is Rejecting Some Apps From The App Store For Declaring Pebble Watch Support - Things Don't Look Good For Android Wear On iOS
Remember that report that claimed Google was preparing to make the Android Wear platform compatible with iOS? Yeah, that might not go down as smoothly as you had hoped. There's still no official word on Wear for iOS, but the latest news out of the Apple camp has disturbing implications. According to one developer over on the official Pebble Watch forum, Apple is rejecting apps from its App Store simply for mentioning Pebble wearable support.
Apple's developer agreement forbids the mention of "any other mobile platform" in both the iOS App Store description and the metadata of the app itself.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
[Oh Snap] The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Alert App Snubs iOS For Android Thanks To Apple's Developer Terms
If you haven't heard of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, usually shortened to EFF, it's sort of like the American Civil Liberties Union for the Internet and other digital issues. The non-profit organization's mission statement says that it "champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development." You'll rarely see a headline-grabbing story where tech intersects public policy that the EFF hasn't at least commented on, if not actively campaigned for or against.
So when these people say they decided to develop an app for Android and specifically not for iOS, there's probably a good reason why.
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Amazon Updates Its App To 5.0 With Instant Video Streaming App, Access To Entire Digital Catalog, Including The Appstore [APK Download]
Amazon has finally (finally!) brought its Prime Instant Video service to Android devices with an Instant Video app available through its own app store.
The news comes as part of an update to version 5.0 of Amazon's own app in the Play Store, which sees a broader content shift - the new Amazon app allows users to access Amazon's entire digital catalog, meaning that - besides instant video content - users can shop for (and install) apps from Amazon's app store. This ostensibly makes the Amazon App Store app obsolete, though the old app will still need to hang around on your device to verify apps that use Amazon's optional DRM system.
Read MoreLatest Deals
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[Update: Note8 $300 off] Deal alert: Get a Verizon Galaxy S9 for $520 ($200 off) or S9+ for $640 ($200 off) from Samsung
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33 temporarily free and 38 on-sale apps and games for Wednesday, including Evoland 2
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[Update: It's back] Deal alert: LG V30S ThinQ drops to just $600 ($330 off) at B&H
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[Deal Alert] Anker just released the Nebula Mars II portable projector, and we have a $100 discount code
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47 temporarily free and 67 on-sale apps to start the week
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Latest Poll
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Acer Chromebook Spin 11 (2018) review: Costs too much for what you get
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Wearable widgets turns your phone's app widgets into Wear OS watch face complications
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Moto G6 review: A predictably good value
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HTC U12+ review: No buttons, no sale
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Cielo Breez review: Smartening up your air conditioner, the easy way
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Latest Roundups
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[Bonus Round] Toca Mystery House, King and Assassins, Suzy Cube, The Franz Kafka Videogame, Gorogoa, and One Line
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20 of the best keyboard compatible Android games for Chrome OS
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21 new and notable Android games from the last week including ARK: Survival Evolved, Bloons TD 6, and Silly Walks (6/11/18 - 6/16/18)
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24 new and notable Android games from the last week including Eden Obscura, Deep Space, and Make Squares (6/4/18 - 6/10/18)
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16 new and notable Android apps from the last week including Google Lens, CARROT Weather, and Clean Share (5/29/18 - 6/9/18)
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Recent Apps and Games
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G Suite users can't review or rate Play Store content anymore
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Facebook Messenger Kids getting new features focused on being nice, coming to Canada and Peru
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Google Chrome will automatically download news articles for offline reading
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Wearable widgets turns your phone's app widgets into Wear OS watch face complications
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Pocket Casts opens beta testing to all users
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Blast from the Past
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1 Year Ago Today
[Update: Now $317 and $323] Deal Alert: Casio WSD-F10 outdoor Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch $330-$340 at Amazon ($60-70 off)
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2 Years Ago Today
Has the "affordable" smartphone let us down? (opinion)
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3 Years Ago Today
Google Announces 17 New Android Wear Watch Faces From Brands And Designers Like Cynthia Rowley, Rubik's, Bang & Olufsen, And Anrealage
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4 Years Ago Today
GravityBox Xposed Module 3.2 Brings Heads Up Notifications And More Goodies To Rooted Users
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5 Years Ago Today
[Bonus Round] Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, Roundhouse, Fireball SE, Ninja Village Lite, And Pocket Stables Lite
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6 Years Ago Today
Judge Posner To Apple: Injunctions Are Not Meant For Small Software Feature Patents, Case Tossed
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7 Years Ago Today
Hulu Plus Finally Available In The Android Market For Select Few Models, Download Away If You Can
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8 Years Ago Today
Xperia X10 Rooted For Real This Time!
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