5 Android apps you can’t miss this week

Welcome to the 441st edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the headlines from the past week:

• The first round of the James Webb Telescope began circulating this week. They look very beautiful and also make great wallpapers. In case you’re interested, we’ve written a quick tutorial along with links to the full-res images.
• WhatsApp released a new feature this week. You can now react to WhatsApp messages with any emoji. Initially, you were limited to about half a dozen different emojis. This restriction is now gone.
• Google released Android 13 beta 4 last week. There isn’t much about it worth mentioning. This is basically a release candidate for Pixel devices. However, beta 4 should be the last beta before the full release. Hold on to your hats, it happens sooner rather than later.
• Microsoft is already making plans for Windows 12. Apparently the company is aiming for a 2024 release or about three years after Windows 11. That would make it a three-year release cycle. It’s a similar time frame between Windows 7 and 8, then between 8 and Windows 10. We’ll see what happens.
• Google launched Chrome OS Flex this week. It lets you run Chrome OS on a Windows or macOS machine. Google has certified it to work on over 400 devices currently in the market. This is a big deal, especially if you like running Android apps or games on your computer. Click on the link to find out more.

Charlie in the underworld

Price: Free / $3.99

Charlie in Underworld is the latest visual novel game from Buff Studios. It is an offshoot of Underworld Office, another visual novel from the developer. It features a gruesome story, choices that affect the story, and more. The visual novel aspect means there aren’t a lot of mechanics. You are primarily expected to enjoy the story and make decisions based on how it unfolds. The story is pretty good too. We appreciate that Buff Studios is working more on the story than previous visual novels.

lights of fate

Price: Free

Destiny Lights is a kind of social network. It allows you to send or receive lanterns anonymously. Basically, a lantern is like a status update. You click on floating lanterns in the UI and get a random update from someone. The app also keeps track of your location so you can see how many people have read your update across the world. It’s supposed to be something positive. Some people seek positivity and others try to spread it. We don’t see it replacing Facebook, but it’s a different idea and not a bad one.

Saint Seiya: Legend of Justice

Price: free to play

Saint Seiya: Legend of Justice is an idle RPG set in the Saint Seiya universe. There are also gacha elements. You summon knights, use them in battle, and progress through the game. Some parts of the game progress while you’re not playing, so you always come back to something new. It has the same problem as many idle games where you make a lot of progress at first and then it gets a bit repetitive once you hit the grind wall. It’s not bad as far as idle games go, but RPG fans may end up getting bored with this one.

Link tree

Price: Free / $5+ per month

Linktree is an organic site. You’ve probably seen the links if you play MMORPGs or go on TikTok a bunch. The company has launched an official mobile app where you can create and manage your profile. There are pre-made themes, a bunch of things you can add to personalize your profile, and more. We’d say it’s a niche use, but everyone else on TikTok and some MMOs use it, so we expect this one to be quite popular.

World War Armies: WW2

Price: free to play

World War Armies: WW2 is an online multiplayer strategy game. Essentially, you build an army and take on another player in battle. Battles help you earn upgrades, and upgrades help you win more matches. The mechanics are quite solid and the game is not difficult to play. There are, however, some unit balancing issues. All in all, it’s pretty decent for strategy fans who like to compete.

If we missed any great Android app or game releases, let us know in the comments.
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