Saturday, February 1, 2014

Top 10 Android app updates this week: Duolingo, Twitter, Google wallet

Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most frequently-upgraded apps for the week. I’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is find the ones that people are actually updating rather than those with the most installs. As in the past, we’re going to filter out minor updates for the super popular apps that have over 10 million installs, but I’m going to make an exception for apps that had significant updates. I hope you enjoy this weekly feature and discover some apps that end up being useful.

My Tracks – Version 2.0.6

My Tracks
What’s new in this version:
  • Insert photo markers
  • Calculate calories burned
  • Play multiple tracks in Google Earth
My Tracks
97,169 ratings
by Google Inc.
10,000,000 - 50,000,000 downloads
Appears in a list of Apps for everyday usage.

Pocket – Version 5.1.2

Pocket
What’s new in this version:
  • Quick Save Actions can now be toggled in Settings.
Pocket
73,327 ratings
by Read It Later
5,000,000 - 10,000,000 downloads

Cover – Version 0.1.8

Cover
What’s new in this version:
  • Music Controls for KitKat. One of our most popular feature requests!
  • Home screen shortcut. Swipe the icon in the lower-left to open Cover directly to your home screen, rather than to the last app that was open.
  • Quick camera access. Tilt your phone on its side to reveal a camera shortcut.
Cover Lock Screen (beta)
19,035 ratings
by Cover
100,000 - 500,000 downloads
Appears in a list of Daily Free Apps

Twitter – Version 5.0.11

Twitter
What’s new in this version:
  • Easily mention other users when you Tweet a photo.
  • Improvements to the photo cropping and image rotation
  • Better login verification.
  • When you’ve read all the latest Tweets, pull to refresh and see recommendations for new content on Twitter.
Twitter
1,819,551 ratings
by Twitter, Inc.
100,000,000 - 500,000,000 downloads
Appears in a list of My APPs (2014)

Duolingo – Version 2.2.0

Duolingo
What’s new in this version:
  • Hello new people! Russian, Turkish, Hungarian, Polish, and Dutch speakers can now learn English on Duolingo.
  • More general awesomeness than before (i.e. we fixed some bugs).
Duolingo: Learn Languages Free
378,699 ratings
by Duolingo
10,000,000 - 50,000,000 downloads
Appears in a list of Form+Function

Google Wallet – Version 2.0 R151-V8

Google Wallet
What’s new in this version:
  • Get notifications when you’re near a merchant with a saved loyalty program
  • Add your loyalty programs even faster – just scan your card and the info will auto-populate
  • Performance improvements
Google Wallet
23,472 ratings
by Google Inc.
10,000,000 - 50,000,000 downloads
Appears in a list of My APPs (2014)

Android Device Manager – Version 1.0.2

Android Device Manager
What’s new in this version:
  • Account password challenge at application start and when switching accounts
  • Bug fixes and performance improvements
Android Device Manager
69,825 ratings
by Google Inc.
1,000,000 - 5,000,000 downloads
Appears in a list of AppMania

Foursquare – Version 2014.01.30

Foursquare
What’s new in this version:
  • What’s new: Want to know more about the places around you? With our new details you can see what a place is notable for – is it trendy? romantic? a great value?
  • Fix for scroll bug, updated localizations.
Foursquare
253,212 ratings
by Foursquare
10,000,000 - 50,000,000 downloads
Appears in a list of True HD Apps

NVIDIA TegraZone – Version 2.9.0

NVIDIA TegraZone
What’s new in this version:
  • Supports Google Play Game Services – achievements for downloading games, submitting reviews/ratings, and spreading the word about TegraZone games
  • Uses Google+ login to personalize your TegraZone experience
  • TegraZone Collections will allow highlighting of special interest groups of games by feature, genre, or publisher
  • Support for NVIDIA SHIELD and MadCatz MOJO
  • Enabled for users of non-Tegra devices so they can learn about Tegra and great Android games
  • Minor bug fixes
NVIDIA TegraZone
7,810 ratings
by NVIDIA
5,000,000 - 10,000,000 downloads

Pushbullet – Version 13.3

PushBullet
What’s new in this version:
  • Added Spanish, German, and Simplified Chinese translations!
  • Want to help us add your language? Check out this site! https://crowdin.net/project/pushbullet
  • Transparent navigation bar on KitKat!
  • Added the option to submit bug reports from “Send feedback”
  • Shrunk the app by 25% (down to just 1.2MB!)
  • Fixed some other bugs
Pushbullet
15,312 ratings
by Pushbullet Inc
100,000 - 500,000 downloads
Appears in a list of Form+Function