Welcome to the 443rd edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the last week:
- Gmail has a new look. The new version rolled out this week on the web and includes Chat, Meet, and Spaces integration. That puts all of your work communications on a single web page. You can customize the look in Settings to add or remove stuff that you do or don’t use. Hit the link to learn more details.
- Google Maps also saw an update this week. It added a few new features, including a new 3D aerial viewpoint and over 100 major global landmarks. The landmarks include things like the Emire State Building and Big Ben in London. Some other new stuff includes improved route information for cyclists and location-sharing notifications.
- Chromebooks are getting some new features just in time for the school season. Most of it is OS-level stuff like a dark theme and other customization options. However, one interesting new feature is the Google Photos movie editor. It’ll essentially let you create video clips with your Google Photos photos and videos. It doesn’t look too complex from the screenshots, but it should work okay for basic stuff.
- Diablo Immortal apparently earned $100 million in its first two months of operation. That’s not a terribly surprising number, considering how big the Diablo franchise is. That said, the game’s microtransactions have drawn a ton of ire from the player base, and this kind of reinforces how heavy the microtransactions actually are. Hit the link to learn more.
- Google Play celebrated its first decade of life with a new promotion and a new logo. The new logo matches other Google products in terms of color, but otherwise, it’s not the biggest deal. The promotion is basically an expansion of the Google Play Points program where you get more points for buying stuff and being able to buy stuff from the Google Store, as in hardware products, with your points. Read the link to learn more.
Alice Fiction
Price: Free to play