Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have a new control center app that mimics the look of iOS, a free video messaging app, and a COVID contact tracing app. So without further ado, here are all of the new and notable Android apps released on the Play Store in the last week.
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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Apps
Mi Control Center: Notifications and Quick Actions
Android Police coverage: Mi Control Center app brings iOS design to your quick settings panel
If you've ever wanted to mimic the iOS Control Center, then Mi Control Center is precisely what you're looking for. As you can see, this app accurately copies the layout of the iOS Control Center, as well as the swipes you'd expect to use on iOS. This means you can swipe from the top right of your screen to pull up your device settings, and you can swipe from the top left to pull up your notifications. Easy peasy.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $6.49
JioMeet
Android Police coverage: JioMeet is basically a completely free 1:1 copy of Zoom
JioMeet is a free video-conferencing application that's being developed in India. Seeing that Zoom has drastically risen in popularity thanks to the coronavirus, it makes sense that competitors would be trying to undercut the king. In comes JioMeet, a completely free video conferencing app, and since its UI is designed similarly to Zoom, moving from Zoom to JioMeet should make for a smooth transition.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
SwissCovid
Android Police coverage: The first large-scale app to use Google and Apple's contact tracing API is being tested in Switzerland
SwissCovid is one of the first large-scale apps to take advantage of Google's contact tracing, and it was recently released to the public of Switzerland, if you happen to live there and would like to try it out. While it's easy to understand why such an app requires location tracking despite making no use of GPS, it would appear some users are upset with the app's permissions, since Google Services requires users to provide access to their location data to use this app.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
CloudMare: Cloudflare Manager
Just as you would expect, CloudMare is a Cloudflare management app, and it's a free release that forgoes advertisements and in-app purchases, which is nice to see. Through this app you'll be able to search and manage DNS records, view analytics, toggle page rules, manage SSL settings, manage caching controls, manage network settings, choose from a dark or light theme, and you can expect support for API tokens and email with an API key.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Microsoft MyHub
Microsoft MyHub is a Microsoft employee app, and so us regular folks won't be able to use it. Luckily, hundreds of thousands of people work for the company, so I'm sure there's more than a few of you out there that may want to check this app out. So if you'd like to explore a one-stop-shop for all of your Microsoft employee benefits, perks, and events, Microsoft MyHub is the app you're looking for.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
NotificationHistory - Recent Message Saver
NotificationHistory is just that, an app that saves all of your notifications in one place, with the added benefit of being able to read your notifications through this app so that you can leave people on read inside of Whatsapp or similar messaging apps. So if you're the sort that loves to keep people guessing as to whether you've read your messages, then NotificationHistory can assuredly help you maintain the cloak of your mysterious yet infuriating behavior.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
AniWeather
AniWeather is a new weather app that offers a pleasant UI. Clearly, this app's dev is going for the more artful approach, and I can appreciate that. I mean, who wants to look at an ugly weather app? More or less, you can expect the typical features found in the majority of weather apps, such as hourly forecasts, real-feal temps, as well as location-based forecasts. So while this is a newer release that's still a work in progress, it already looks nice, though that orange background with white text has got to go.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs $1.99 apiece
FilmBox
FilmBox is billed as a negative film scanner, so if you have piles of slides or reels of negatives, FilmBox is here to help. Having recently priced a few different physical slide scanners myself, it's nice to see that apps are filling the void for those that don't want to plunk down such a big chunk of change. So if you'd like to preserve all of your old photos without breaking the bank, FilmBox is a competent choice.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $19.99
Wondery - Premium Podcast App, Immersive Stories
Wondery is labeled as a premium podcast app, and much of its content is centered around immersive story-based podcasts. This inclusion of high-quality content means the app requires a subscription ($4.99 /month), though you can check it out for free during a trial period, to see if it's worth it. While I'm not so sure subscription-based podcast apps will find a lot of success, this subscription trend does not appear to be slowing anytime soon.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $4.99 - $34.99
Locals.com
Locals.com is a social media app that ideally provides direct access to creators and their communities, which sounds more like an advertising app, really. But hey, who cares about the blurred lines between self-promotion and social content when there's a newfangled social media app to explore. I suppose what's unique about this release is that it's supposed to be free of censorship, thanks to its subscription model, though I find this claim hard to believe in the lens of our current times.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $7.99 - $42.99
Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps
Security
Android Police coverage: Xiaomi brings MIUI Security app to the Play Store for faster updates
Security is a Xiaomi release, and much like every other manufacturer's security app, you can secure your device with ease. Things like an app lock, the amount of your data usage, and security scans are all present within this release. More or less, Security should be a pre-installed app for most Xiaomi users, and really, the company only uploaded the listing to the Play Store so that it can easily update the app without having to worry about carriers.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
OnStar Guardian
OnStar Guardian is a smartphone app for your entire family if you're an OnStar subscriber. No longer will you have to rely on the built-in options in your car, and so OnStar will be accessible to any subscriber with an Android device. So if you'd like to receive Mobile Crash Responses, Roadside Assistance, and support for emergency services through OnStar, you can now do so through the OnStar Guardian app.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!
If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.
Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.
- the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
- it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop
Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: oh.no.its.the@androidpolice.com.
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