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Amazon's Appstore has been around for a long, long time, but it recently came under the spotlight with Microsoft's Windows 11 announcement. It will be the platform that will enable installing Android apps on Windows PCs, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions, especially regarding technical implementations. The Amazon Appstore itself hasn't exactly been renowned for its advanced features, but the e-commerce giant is now making a public commitment to bringing it up to speed with Google's next-gen Android App Bundle format.

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The business models of many app stores have come under fire in the past year or so, escalating with Epic Games' lawsuit against Apple. At the heart of the matter is how platform owners are using their position to implement mechanisms and policies that force developers to give up as much as 30% of their profits. To be more specific, even small in-app purchases are required to go through Apple's or Google's billing systems, which means giving them a cut of the revenue, but Google is now postponing the strict enforcement of that policy until next year.

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New gaming-focused features were revealed this week by Google for Android 12 and the future of Android in general. Android 12 will deliver a large collection of features to devices when released in its full form later this year - for now, it's out in Beta form for those brave enough to take advantage of early-release software. If you're a fan of having access to games as fast as possible, the new "play as you download" feature in Android 12 for Google Play might be right up your alley.

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Android is often criticized for its fragmentation, but that situation also has a rather interesting side effect. Even while manufacturers have abandoned very old devices, Google has maintained support for versions of Android going back almost a decade, as long as there are still enough users to justify the maintenance cost. It seems, however, that the death knell has tolled for Android Jelly Bean as Google announces the discontinuation of Google Play Services support for devices still running on the 2012 Android release.

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A user on Reddit, going by rayw_reddit, recently posted in the r/Samsung subreddit that they had built a new app to test water resistance for smartphones. The app claims to test the IP67/IP68 water-resistance seals without having to dunk the device in water. The creator says the app was designed to give people confidence that their expensive smartphone is water-resistant.

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Google Play Store is constantly evolving to meet the growing needs and demands of Android users and developers. Many of those improvements rely on automated systems powered by AI and machine learning, particularly in screening apps for malware or prohibited content. There are times, however, when changes require developers to make changes in the way they write and distribute their apps. One of the most disruptive changes is coming in August when Google Play Store switches to App Bundles instead of APKs as its standard package format, a change that will affect not only developers but also Android users, hopefully for the better.

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Although Microsoft did confirm the cosmetic changes that have been leaked about Windows 11, it managed to drop a few surprises on our laps today, some good, some bad, and some just puzzling. Its revelation that its next free Windows upgrade will support running Android apps may actually cover all those three cases. While the idea of being able to access your favorite mobile apps on your desktop or laptop might be exciting, the fact that it will be powered by Amazon's Android ecosystem could dampen a bit of that enthusiasm.

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Google Play Store is home to hundreds of apps and games, many of which you probably wouldn't have discovered on your own. Many of those you might not even be interested in trying because of the upfront price tag attached. As a promotion strategy as well added source of revenue for Google and developers, Google Play Pass offers these Android experiences for free in exchange for a monthly fee. That subscription service, clearly meant to rival Apple Arcade, has now expanded its reach both in the number of countries it is available in as well as the number of games it offers.

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The University of Exeter has published a brain-training app for Android and iOS called 'Food Trainer' that is designed to help users break their junk food habits. Data from the app was used for a new study on whether this kind of brain-training application can actually improve one's eating habits -- and, according to the researchers, it can.

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This morning Niantic revealed information about Pokemon GO Fest 2021, a celebration of the 5th anniversary of the launch of Pokemon GO! This event will feature a drastically reduced price for tickets, apparently thanks to the fact that this is, indeed, the 5th anniversary of the game. Instead of $15, tickets this year will be $5.

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When Huawei got slapped with severe US sanctions, it took down its many subsidiaries and business with it. That included Honor, which was expected to be a rising star before that fate befell its parent company. Late last year, Honor officially and legally cut its ties with Huawei, which freed it to make partnerships that the larger company couldn't. That seems to be true with Qualcomm, whose Snapdragon chip will power the upcoming Honor 50 series. Whether that phone will also see the return of Google Play apps and services, however, is still up in the air.

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Google released a notice today about the future of Android and user data transparency. While not a direct response to Apple's update with iOS 14.5 - at least not explicitly - Google's "pre-announcement" of an upcoming safety section in Google Play should effectively keep the two operating systems in-step on several privacy-centric fronts. The new section in Google Play for Android apps will "help people understand the data an app collects or shares, if that data is secured, and additional details that impact privacy and security."

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