Welcome to the 500th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the last week:
Usagi Shima
Price: Free to play
- The Google Play Store is trying to make it easier to find new apps and games, which is great because that’s been an obnoxious endeavor for Google Play’s entire existence. The new initiative is using Tiktok-style videos to highlight trending apps and games that are similar to Google Play’s editorial recommendations. Google also intends to cross-post them on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Gboard is working on an AI-powered tool to fix grammar mistakes. The new feature, called Proofread, works similarly to Grammarly, but in a more aggressive way. It’ll even rewrite whole paragraphs for you. The feature is not new, as it first appeared in earlier beta versions of the keyboard, but it’s popped up again and it could appear in version 13.4 when it launches to the public.
- YouTube is testing out a Playables feature on YouTube. The feature allows people to play games on the platform on either desktop or mobile. The games seem to be casual in nature, so we’re not looking at another Google Stadia. Hit the link to learn more.
- The European Commission designated its first six gatekeeper companies as part of its Digital Markets Act. Those companies include Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Bytedance, Meta, and Microsoft. As such, several services from each one are going to start playing by a different set of rules from other services. That includes Chrome, Gmail, Google Play, and others. Hit the link to learn more because there is a lot there.
- Android 14’s official release was delayed by a month at the last minute. In fact, it was expected to launch this week. The reason is for security purposes. Google identified some security risks and is taking a month to fix them before officially launching the OS. Coincidentally, the new release date is slated for Oct. 4, which is the same date at the Pixel 8 launch.
Usagi Shima
Price: Free to play
