5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly (3) - Android

Welcome to the 346th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the last week:

• DC Universe is removing all of its movie and TV content in January 2021. Two things are happening after that. The first is DC Universe is changing its name to DC Universe Infinite and will only provide online comic books from the DC Comics library. The second is HBO Max getting the streaming rights to all of that movie and TV content. Hit the link to learn more.
• Paytm is one of the most popular payment services in India. It was removed from the Play Store last week and, after accusing Google of anti-competitive behavior, was reinstated to the Play Store. Google removed the app for gambling violations and maintains that it doesn’t allow unregulated gambling through Play Store apps. It was sparked by a Cricket League Contest where people could win cash. Hit the link to learn more.
• TikTok once again dominated the news cycle this week. Microsoft announced that it, in fact, would not buy TikTok. The software giant said TikTok’s parent company was no longer interested in selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft and terminated negotiations. TikTok instead began talking to Oracle for its US operations.
• Unfortunately, all of that didn’t happen fast enough. The US government said it would ban TikTok if it did not sell off its US operations by September 15th. Well, September 15th came and nothing was happening so the US went ahead and banned TikTok as well as WeChat. Both apps are to be removed from US app stores by September 20th. We’ll post updates about all of this as it happens.
• YouTube is working to close the gap left by TikTok. It announced Shorts this week, a way to create and share TikTok-like short video clips right on YouTube. It launched in India to start and will likely move to other countries sooner rather than later. The only real difference is YouTube Shorts limits videos to 15 seconds instead of 60 like on TikTok.

Abyssrium World

Price: Free to play

Abyssrium World is the latest game in the popular series. This one is similar to a city-building simulator except you’re building your own ocean landscape instead of a city. Players upgrade their stuff and build more things as they progress. The game bills itself as relaxing so there isn’t a lot of timed events or things like that. You just log in, play, and then stop playing when you’re done. It is a free to play game, though, so of course you can progress faster with microtransactions if you want to. Luckily, there isn’t anything to really progress to so you don’t really need to if you don’t want to.

Google AdMob

Price: Free

Believe it or not, Google didn’t have an official app for AdMob until earlier this month. This one does about what you would expect. People who use AdMob can log in, check your app earnings, get insights, and check payments. The UI is fairly straightforward with colorful graphics and easy menus. It won’t blow anybody’s mind but it’s not really supposed to.

Company of Heroes

Price: $13.99

Company of Heroes is real-time strategy game. It takes place during World War II and players start during the Invasion of Normandy and make their way through the European Theater of Operations to defeat the Nazis. It’s a full port of the PC game except with mobile phone controls so you get every minute of the PC game for the single $13.99 price tag. The graphics, game play, and mechanics are all very well done and this is one of those games we only meant to test for a few hours and it turned into an all day affair. This is definitely one of the best RTS games to hit Android in a while and it’s not a free to play game either.

Adobe Account Access

Price: Free

Adobe Account Access is an admittedly boring app but it serves an important function. It lets you quickly sign into your Adobe account without the need for two-factor authentication. You would log into an app or the website and use this app to authenticate rather than a code. That’s about all it does and all it’s meant to do. The app works just fine, but it doesn’t support a number of popular older devices so you may need to wait for a few updates to make sure your phone is compatible. It’s otherwise free to use.

Mousebusters

Price: Free / Up to $10.99

Mousebusters is a retro game that appears cutesy on the surface, but it’s actually kind of dark. Players take on the role of the Mouse Busters who take on the growing darkness in the hearts of an apartment buildings’ tenants. The story is actually pretty decent and the game play elements are enjoyable. You have to buy the full game to see all of the content, but at least it’s not free to play like most mobile games. You can play a fair amount of the game for free if you want to. This one is actually surprisingly good.

Thank you for reading! Check these out too:

• 15 best simulation games for Android
• 10 best productivity apps for Android
• 15 best strategy games for Android
• 10 best two-factor authentication apps for Android
• 15 best adventure games for Android

If we missed any big Android app or game releases or updates, tell us about them in the comments!