Welcome to the latest edition of Android Apps Weekly, where we discuss the latest in mobile news and take a closer look at some of the most interesting new apps and games. Let’s jump right in and take a look at some of the biggest highlights from the last week:
- Google Gemini is adding support for older versions of Android. Google has updated the Play Store listing for Gemini, extending support to all devices running Android 10 or newer. Previously Gemini was restricted to Android 12 only.
- The US government has officially signed a law banning TikTok in nine months, due to potential concerns around its connections to the Chinese government. There is one exception: If TikTok’s current owners, ByteDance, sell the platform to a non-China-based company then the app ban will be canceled.
- ByteDance has responded to the US TikTok ban by stating it won’t sell and would rather pull out of the US market altogether. More than likely we’re looking at the beginning of a long legal fight between the US and ByteDance.
- The Google Podcasts subscription export tool is finally available globally. The new tool is available from now until July 29th. After that, your Google Podcasts data will no longer be available if you don’t export it ahead of time.
- YouTube Music recently got several upgrades that position it as an alternative to Google Podcasts. In a new blog post, the company discussed its plans to continue to improve its podcast experience on Youtube Music. Unfortunately, users who have switched from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music have been less than impressed with the experience so far.
- Google Wallet has added America Express support on Fitbit, notification improvements, and many other new features. There are also a few new features for public transit use as well.
- As promised, Google has added a new Gemini-powered summary feature to the Gmail app. The feature will start rolling out widely over the next several days.
Android Apps Weekly: New apps and games
Looking for some new Android apps and Android games to keep you occupied? Last week actually saw two apps and just three games, but unfortunately this week we had trouble digging up any juicy new apps, so the focus will be on five new games worth checking out.