URLs, photos, videos, text) between Android devices, better multitasking features on tablets, an expanded bedtime mode with dimmed wallpaper and a dark theme, HDR video support on third-party camera apps, BLE Audio, Spatial Audio on supported headphones, an upgraded media player widget that showcases album artwork and includes a dancing playback bar and more. Other improvements include the ability to copy content (e.g. In another personalization move, Android 13 allows users to set the languages used for different apps - useful for those who speak multiple languages. This is a much simpler and more elegant solution than the icon customization on iOS today, where apps like Brass, Themify, Aesthetic, Color Widgets and many others have to leverage a combination of configuration profiles and shortcuts to do the same. With the latest update, they can now also match their non-Google apps to their chosen theme and color schemes. With the prior version of Android, users could theme their device to match their background. In iOS 16, this now includes a customizable Lock Screen with widgets, while Android is doubling down on its Material You UI. The OS will reach other non-Pixel Android devices sometime later this year, including Samsung Galaxy, Asus, HMD (Nokia phones), iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo, Xiaomi and others.Īs mobile platforms have standardized, the latest efforts from both Google and Apple have been focused on personalization elements.
This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.ĭo you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: /newsletters Top Stories Android 13 arrivesīig news for Android users this week as Google rolled out the new version of its mobile operating system, Android 13, initially to all Pixel devices, following the beta launch a month ago. Global spending across iOS and Google Play last year was $133 billion, and consumers downloaded 143.6 billion apps. But overall, the app economy is continuing to grow, having produced a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports.
Global app spending reached $65 billion in the first half of 2022, up only slightly from the $64.4 billion during the same period in 2021, as hypergrowth fueled by the pandemic has slowed.
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.