Google announces best apps and games of 2021

Google has revealed its list of best apps and games of 2021 in India. This has become an annual tradition of sorts for the company. The only criteria is that the app and game in question has to be available on the Google Play Store. There were multiple categories, with two sections. One was awarded by Google while the other was a User’s Choice Award.

“In India, once again, we saw a diverse range of apps help people across the country with relevant – and often unique – solutions to their daily needs. This year, we saw a distinctive rise in e-learning, with many winners finding creative ways to help India learn a range of skills online, be it mastering a passion through celebrity-led virtual classes with FrontRow, or using AI to scale student learning outcomes with EMBIBE,” Google noted in its blog.

Google Play Store: Best App of 2021

Google’s pick for best app of the year was Bitclass. This app is a live learning platform that gives users free classes on a range of topics. This includes anything from baking, dance, and more. It also adds to the digital learning culture that popped up during the pandemic-enforced lockdown. 

The User’s Choice Award was won by Clubhouse. The app saw a spike in popularity this year and it gave people a platform to get together and discuss pretty much everything under the Sun. 

Google Play Store: Best Game of 2021

Google gave its award for the best game of the year to Battlegrounds Mobile India. The game was launched earlier this year and is a version of PUBG: Mobile that was specifically designed for India. 

The User’s Choice Award for the best games won by Garena Free Fire Max. This is a more graphically intensive version of the standard version of the game and is designed for more powerful hardware that is available to players these days. 

Aside from this, Google also awarded apps and games in more specific categories. You can check out the whole list here. 

Also read: How To Download Battlegrounds Mobile India On Android

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Cricket 22 Release Date, Download, Pre-Order, Review, Gameplay, Price, and More

Cricket 22 is the latest iteration in the popular cricket video game franchise by Big Ant Studios. It is said to have been designed with the next-generation consoles in mind. It will be available on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Here’s everything you need to know about Cricket 22.

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How Indian Games Ludo Star, Parchisi Star Built an Audience of Six Million Players Every Day

With startup culture thriving in India and the need for ‘going local’ becoming increasingly popular, we take a look at all the hottest tech startups grabbing headlines in the country. Gadgets 360 talks to Afsar Ahmad, co-founder, Gameberry Labs to know about the company’s history, growth, and future plans.

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Samsung Galaxy S22+ and Galaxy S22 to include 50MP Primary Camera: Report

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series phones are likely to go official in February 2022 and reliable leaks regarding these flagships have expectedly begun to surface. The camera on the S22 Ultra was recently detailed and now we have word on the camera hardware used on the Galaxy S22+ and the base Galaxy S22 model from the same source. 

Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus Camera Details

Leakster Ice Universe claims that the camera hardware will be the same on both of these models. The main camera has a 50MP sensor that’s 1/1.57” in size with 1.0 µm pixels and has an f/1.8 aperture lens. Samsung could be using its new GN5 sensor that integrates Dual Pixel Pro technology for relatively faster auto-focus and Samsung’s proprietary FDTI (Front Deep Trench Isolation) technology that helps gather more light. 

The upgraded telephoto camera brandishes 3x optical zoom. The sensor used has a 10MP resolution, measures 1/3.94”, and has 1.0 µm pixels. The wide-angle camera remains similar to the Galaxy S21/S21+, at least on paper. This is a 12MP sensor, 1/3.44” in size, and with an f/2.2 aperture lens. On the front, both of these phones are said to include a 10MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. 

According to the previous report from the same tipster, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will include a 108MP primary sensor, which will allegedly be an improved version of HM3. The phone will reportedly include three more Sony sensors on the rear- a 12MP ultra-wide, a 10MP periscope zoom camera for 10x zoom and a 10MP 3x telephoto camera. The front camera will remain a 40MP sensor as on the last generation Ultra.  

We have also seen a few renders of the upcoming Samsung flagship phones, and many sources corroborate that Samsung is taking an Apple-iPhone-like flat approach for the Galaxy S21+ and the vanilla Galaxy S21. The display, back and side edges are reportedly all flat. Allegedly the S22 Ultra still retains those display curves. 

Going by Samsung’s customary product launch timeline, we still have a few weeks before the official unveiling and we expect the leaks to keep pouring in meanwhile. Let’s wait and watch.

Also Read: Qualcomm and Microsoft’s exclusivity deal set to expire soon: Here’s what it means for Windows on ARM

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Amazon Prime: All the New TV Shows & Movies You Can Binge This Week

Amazon Prime Video has crafted a schedule that allows it to release a spate of new content every week. This week, we’re going to see a new drama TV series, a documentary and a few thrillers to kick off December 2021 with a bang! Here’s what you can expect to see during the week starting November 29th. 

29th November: Burning

Burning is a documentary that will take a look at the deadly bushfires that ravaged Australia throughout 2019 and 2020. The documentary intends to take viewers through the ramifications of climate change and how these disastrous fires led to a widespread loss of life (both human and animals) and impacted Australians. With Emmy-award-winning filmmaker Eva Orner at the helm of this project, we can expect a powerful deep dive into Australia’s Black Summer.

3 December: Spiral

The latest installment of the Saw franchise, Spiral (also known as Spiral: From the Book of Saw) takes us through the journey of Detective Ezekiel Banks as he solves the mystery of Jiggsaw’s CopyCat Killer. It stars Chris Rock and it will be interesting to see this comedy legend act his heart out in a horror film.

3 December: Wrath of Man

Wrath of Man is a heist thriller that is broken down into four parts, with each part showing a relevant part of the heist as a whole, and coming together to create one phenomenal movie. The film saw a theatrical release in the United States on 7 May, and you can check out reviews online to know whether it's worth your time. 

3 December: Harlem (Season 1)

Harlem is an Amazon Original series and we’ll see the first season drop on 3rd December 2021. The series follows a group of four women living in Harlem as they navigate their lives in New York, build their careers and forge new relationships.

Movies Releasing on Amazon Prime Video on 1st December

In addition to the shows and movies mentioned above, new movies will be made available on Amazon Prime Video on 1st December. These are: 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) Alex Cross (2013) All Is Lost (2013) Seuss' The Cat In The Hat (2003) Edward Scissorhands (1990) End Of Days (1999) Guess Who (2005) Halloween II (1981) Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982) Jennifer's Body (2009) Joe Bell (2020) – December 3 Little Women (1994) Mistletoe Mixup (2021) Popper's Penguins (2011) Pineapple Express (2008) Pineapple Express (Unrated) (2008) Ronin (1998) Sleepless In Seattle (1993) Soul Surfer (2011) Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006) The Hunt For Red October (1990) The Proposal (2009) The Royal Tenenbaums (2002) The Thin Red Line (1998) The Usual Suspects (1995) The Waterboy (1998) Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008) Under The Tuscan Sun (2003) We Are X (2016) – December 3 What's Love Got To Do With It (1993) White As Snow (2021) New TV Shows on Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video will also be releasing new TV Shows on 1st December. These are:

A Discovery of Witches: Season 1 (AMC+) A House Divided: Season 1 (ALLBLK) Believe (2016) (UP Faith & Family) Bonanza: Season 1 (Best Westerns Ever) Brad Meltzer’s Decoded: Season 1 (HISTORY Vault) Christmas Everlasting (2020) (Hallmark Movies Now) Hallmark Drama’s Christmas Cookie Matchup: Season 1 (Hallmark Movies Now) Hostages: Season 1 (Topic) My Crazy Ex: Season 1 (A&E Crime Central) Roadkill: Season 1 (MotorTrend) Sanford: Seasons 1-2 Sanford And Son: Seasons 1-6 Signed, Sealed, Delivered for Christmas (2014) (Hallmark Movies Now) The Gulf: Season 1 (Acorn TV) The Jeffersons: Seasons 1-11 The Perfect Wedding Match (2021) (UP Faith & Family) The Tom & Jerry Show: Season 1 (Boomerang)

When Calls the Heart: Home for Christmas: Season 7 (Hallmark Movies Now)

Keep an eye on this space for our official reviews of these TV Shows and Movies. Wondering what to Binge Next? Click here to know whether Hawkeye is worth your time.

Also Read: Amazon finally announces dedicated Prime Video app for macOS

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Sony Working on PlayStation DualShock-Like Controller for Smartphones, Alleged Patent Suggests

Sony is reportedly working on a PlayStation DualShock-like controller for smartphones. A patent shows two controller grips attached to a device. Apart from this, nothing is known about it as of now.

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Bye-Bye Spotify Car View feature, hello, TikTok-inspired video feed

Spotify’s car view feature is created to make the app easier to use while driving. However, the brand is retiring this feature and is “exploring new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience”, according to a spokesperson. Additionally, Spotify is also working on a feature that will ape TikTok’s short video feature, presumably to allow artists and users to share short clips. 

When did Spotify confirm that it’s retiring the Car View feature?

Recently, Spotify users noticed that the Car View feature was missing from the app. The Car View feature basically displays the app with a simplified interface and large buttons, allowing people to use the app easily while driving. Users who saw that the same was missing pointed it out on the Spotify Community threat. A moderator representing the brand then responded with, “Think of retiring [the] car-view as something that needs to happen in an effort to make way for new innovations coming down the track,” the moderator posted.

Spotify is also reportedly working on an in-car accessory with touch controls. So, removing the Car View feature may be a strategic move to drive user adoption for the new accessory.

Spotify is also working on a TikTok-like feature

In other news, Spotify is also working on a video sharing feature that will work like TikTok. Based on Chris Messina’s tweet, Spotify may soon have a fourth icon displayed in the toolbar called Discover. This is meant to work as a “pared down version of a TikTok-style feed of vertical music videos” that can be liked or skipped.

Messina also said in his tweet that the new feature is  likely to use the company's Canvas feature. The Canvas feature allows users or artists to turn static song/ album art into eight-second visual loops.

Also Read: Spotify Greenroom is the latest interactive audio chat app like Clubhouse to connect fans with music creators

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