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. We’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to find the ones that are actually being updated by the developers rather than selecting the apps 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 we’ll make exceptions for apps that have had significant updates. We hope you enjoy this weekly feature and that you discover some apps that end up being useful.

Google+ – Version 6.8.0

What’s new in this version:

• Pin posts in your Collections
• New design of Communities
• Performance improvements and bug fixes
• Improved navigation and overall experience for screen reader users

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Nuzzel News – Version 2.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• Search for top news stories on any topic.
• Discover feeds on thousands of topics and communities.
• Add any feed to your favorite feeds and easily swipe between feeds.

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Feedly – Version 31.1.0

What’s new in this version:

• Support for feedly Login
• Open in favorite browser setting
• Fixed bug in Evernote integration

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Google Street View – Version 2.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• Import photo spheres from your device
• Expanded support for linked spherical cameras
• Bulk actions

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Keeper® Password Manager – Version 8.6.1

What’s new in this version:

• Support for Android 6.0 Marshmallow including Fingerprint Login.

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Skype – Version 6.11.0

What’s new in this version:

• Manage conversations – Long tap on a contact or chat in the Recents tab to bring up a toolbar to delete, mark as read, or mute notifications
• Save video messages – When you record or receive a memorable video message that you want to keep, just tap on it to save it to your phone’s photo gallery
• Share with groups – Share photos from your photo gallery directly to a Skype group conversation
• Enhanced search – Search for conversation content, in addition to contacts and group names

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Imgur – Version 2.3.0

What’s new in this version:

• Android tablets now supported! Yay!
• GIFs improved to be better, faster, stronger
• “Today on Imgur” notifications for your viewing pleasure

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Google Camera – Version 3.1.0

What’s new in this version:

Google Photos – Version 1.9.0

What’s new in this version:

• Photos that are safely backed up will be removed from your device’s storage, but will still be available in Google Photos.
• Ability to delete from SD card on compatible devices
• Performance improvements and bug fixes

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Steam – Version 2.1.4

What’s new in this version:

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Do you dream of filling your phone with dozens of movies, thousands of songs and tens of thousands of photos? The SanDisk 200GB microSD card can make your dreams come true. And today, Amazon is selling it at a 46% discount.

That’s right, Amazon has a 200GB microSD card on sale right now for just $135. We know, we know, saying just $135 sounds bit off, but these things normally go for $250. Even on sale, they usually only hit $159. So this is a legit deal.

Hit the source link to pick up a 200GB microSD card right now.

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HTC has been getting into the holiday spirit by offering Hot Deals every Tuesday. If you still havn’t been tempted to buy anything from the company’s website, HTC is hoping that its upcoming deals around Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be compelling enough to help you part with at least some of your hard-earned cash.

First up is the HTC One A9. Without a contract, the phone sells for $499, but HTC is willing to hand over its new smartphone for free if you have a qualifying iPhone that you’ll part with. If you buy the One A9 on HTC’s site between November 26 and December 2, HTC will offer you a nice rebate that will vary based on the phone you trade in.

• Trade in an iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus for a $499.99 rebate (full price of the HTC One A9)
• Trade in a Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge for a $200 rebate
• Trade in a LG G3 or G4 for a $100 rebate

HTC is also offering incredible savings on the HTC One M9, Nexus 9, HTC RE and all accessories that are available on its site. The dates for these deals are all over the board, so we recommend creating a calendar reminder to make sure that you don’t miss the deal that’s best for you.

• 40% off all Nexus 9 models: Thursday, November 26 – Friday, November 27 (free Logitech Keyboard for the first 500 customers who buy the 32GB LTE model)
• 40% off all accessories: Saturday, November 28 – Sunday, November 29
• 60% off RE camera: Monday, November 30 – Wednesday, December 2 (first 900 units come with a free RE Protection Pack with your RE Camera)
• 40% off HTC One M9: Monday, November 30 – Wednesday, December 2

As with all holiday sales, the offers listed are only valid while supplies last. We’re hoping that HTC has plenty of supply to go around, but we recommend setting an alarm clock and hitting HTC’s site first thing on in the morning to ensure you can take advantage of these ridiculously low prices.

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HTC is giving consumers another reason to buy the familiar but undeniably beautiful HTC One A9 today in the form of monthly security updates.

When HTC announced the One A9, it guaranteed the device would see updates just 15 business days after Google’s own Nexus devices. Now, the company is clarifying that doesn’t apply to just major firmware revisions, but Google’s monthly security updates as well. The November security update should be rolling out sometime today.

Security has become a largely publicized issue for Android manufacturers lately. It’s nice to see HTC step up and tackle the problem head on. Does this make the One A9 more attractive to you?

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The Samsung Gear VR has been around for over a year now, but previous offerings were only compatible with a single device and were always treated as beta products by Samsung. That all changes with the release of the new Gear VR, with the price drop to $99 bringing it into the mainstream just in time for the holidays. And while you still need a Samsung smartphone, the new hardware supports all 2015 flagships, including the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and Note 5.

Reviews started popping up from some outlets this morning, and most seem to have had relatively limited time with the device and are not terming their coverage as a true review yet. Nonetheless, the first impressions are interesting and should give those of you waiting for your pre-orders to arrive or wanting to snatch it up as soon as possible a good idea of what to expect.

Gear VR “Review” roundup

• Ben Popper on The Verge
• Ben Kuchera on Polygon
• Drew Olanoff on TechCrunch
• Brian X. Chen on New York Times
• Lewis Leong on IGN
• Geoffrey A. Fowler on The Wall Street Journal
• Peter Rubin on Wired
• Nate Ralph on CNET

What critics are saying about the Gear VR

• Comfort: “The Gear VR itself is light…0.62 pounds to be exact.” “But in my testing of the device over a week, the video strained my eyes and the extra weight on my head made my neck sore.” “The headset is now lighter and more comfortable than previous models. It feels good in the hand and very comfortable on the face.” “You can comfortably fit glasses inside, and there’s also a focus adjustment that makes the view more pleasurable for aging eyes. Yet there’s still some discomfort. Wearing anything on your face for an hour can get old.” “VR is funny that way. I didn’t find the headset too heavy, but its physical, visceral effects came at a cost. Each half-hour session left me with a slight headache and disorientation that bordered on nausea.”
• Battery/heat: “The two concerns that I had about the Gear VR in earlier versions, battery drain and overheating phones, have largely been mitigated. An hour of solid use hits my Note 5 for anywhere from 15-20 percent.” “Oh, and keep a charger nearby: VR will devastate your phone’s battery life.” “My test Galaxy S6 Edge Plus worked so hard when mounted, it could blow through its huge battery with an hour or two of intensive VR.” “Plan for between two to five hours of use,…There is a micro-USB port if you’d like to charge while you play,…You’re also going to notice that your phone gets very hot while playing, although the Gear VR will warn you if it gets too hot and may ask you to take a short break to let things cool down.” 
• Controls: “The Gear VR adds a touchpad on the right side that’s equally useful for scrolling through movie titles and zapping alien spaceships, though it takes a little getting used to.” “All of the controls are easily accessible, but just separated enough to avoid unintentional button presses. You can also pair a Samsung or third-party Bluetooth controller with the phone, which comes in handy for some of games, particularly the old-school titles you can play in the Arcade app, stand-up cabinets and all.” 
• Audio: “There’s a cut out for plugging in wired headphones, but you’re better off using wireless headphones.” “A bluetooth headset is a must: the audio pumping out of your phone’s speakers isn’t nearly as engrossing as having the enclosed aural experience you’ll get from a good set of headphones.” 
• Content: “There are currently more than 100 games, apps, and “experiences” available in the store—many of them free—and Max Cohen, Oculus’ head of mobile, says that there are are least 40 more coming in the next couple of months.” “Oculus and Samsung made sure to populate the store with a staggering amount of curated content beyond interactive movie trailers and tech demos.” “My favorite VR experience thus far takes on a much slower pace: it’s Land’s End, an adventure game from the creators of Monument Valley. It’s gorgeous; sort of a lo-fi take on Myst, controlled with your head and eyes.” “Gear VR has a seemingly endless array of video apps, not to mention a pretty decent Netflix app, but the experience of Oculus Video has them all beat.” “The Steam version of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes has been a surprise viral hit, but in our opinion the best version can be found on Gear VR. You put on the headset, give your friends printed out directions on how to defuse the bombs you’re about to face and off you go.”

5 Word Wrap Up: “Samsung owners buy it now”

Overall the reviews are tremendously positive. To be sure, there are still areas for improvement and naturally, the Gear VR cannot stand against PC-powered VR devices like Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, but the most common conclusion across the reviews was that at $99 it is an easy recommendation for anyone that already owns a 2015 Samsung flagship phone and a great gateway to VR.

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Google is looking to launch a totally customized version of its Play app store next year in China.

According to Reuters, the store would be separate from other versions of the Play Store in order to comply with China’s strict filtering rules. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuters said the app store would be just the first step, paving the way for future Google products to debut in the country in the future.

Google originally pulled its services out of China in 2010, as the company didn’t want to continue complying with censorship laws. As one of the largest markets on the planet, Google has apparently decided China is simply too big to ignore.

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