Developer Archives

AppWizard

October 7, 2026

Google Messages Update: Games Coming Soon?

Google Messages is set to introduce a new gaming feature within chats, similar to Apple’s iMessage GamePigeon. The latest beta update reveals plans for a dedicated “Games” section with games codenamed “Midnight,” including titles like Chess, Pool, Darts, Cup Pong, Checkers, Crazy 8s, Basketball, Four in a Row, and Word Scramble. Details on whether these games will support multiplayer functionality remain unclear.

AppWizard

October 7, 2026

Will Android apps struggle on Intel Googlebooks? Google and Intel offer different answers

Support for independent tech journalism is emphasized, with Chrome Unboxed encouraging contributions through its membership program. The text discusses the challenges of running Android applications on Intel versus ARM processors in the context of the new Googlebook OS, which is built on Android 17. Google has warned that Intel-based Googlebooks may face challenges with certain Android apps, particularly those designed for ARM processors, although 96.6% of the top 10,000 Android apps reportedly run well on Intel devices. Intel disputes the need for developer adjustments, promoting its Intel Bridge Technology as a solution for application compatibility and performance. The ongoing public disagreement highlights concerns for potential buyers regarding the performance of Intel-powered Googlebooks, especially for resource-intensive applications.

AppWizard

October 7, 2026

Bitchat’s removal: Govt sources say Bluetooth messaging app a concern

Jack Dorsey's Bitchat app has been removed from app stores in India due to concerns that it posed a potential law-and-order issue. The Indian government expressed that the app's Bluetooth messaging functionality could be misused. Following the directive from the IT Ministry, Apple removed Bitchat from its India App Store, and it was also taken down from the Play Store. The concerns about Bitchat arose in July during protests by the Cockroach Janta Party over exam paper leaks, which led to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre instructing GitHub to remove the app. The political climate in India is tense, with the Cockroach Janta Party demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

AppWizard

October 7, 2026

Google reveals how many popular Android apps run (or not) on Intel-based Googlebooks

96.6% of the top 10,000 most-used Android apps operate seamlessly on Intel-powered Googlebooks, indicating that only a little over 300 apps face compatibility issues, primarily due to their lack of support for larger screens. Snapdragon variants generally offer superior support for Android applications compared to Intel models. Intel-powered Googlebooks utilize a binary translation layer that dynamically compiles modern 64-bit Arm code into native 64-bit Intel instructions, ensuring high-performance applications run with native-level speed. On day one, 96.6% of the top 10k+ applications are available and run flawlessly on Intel-powered Googlebooks, with remaining apps removed from Play due to incompatibility with large screens.

BetaBeacon

October 7, 2026

Android gaming on Googlebook is already hitting a frustratingly familiar roadblock

Titles like Call of Duty: Mobile, PUBG Mobile, and Fortnite are not compatible with Googlebook devices, preventing users from downloading and installing them. Other games like Farlight 84 and Delta Force can be installed but are blocked from matchmaking due to unauthorized emulator use.

AppWizard

October 7, 2026

Google Acknowledges Day 1 Android App Performance Issues on New Laptops

Google's newly launched Intel-based Googlebooks may have compatibility issues with certain Android applications, as some apps designed for Arm chips might require developer adjustments to function optimally. The affected models include three produced by Lenovo, Acer, and Asus, which use Intel's Panther Lake architecture. In contrast, the two models from Dell and HP utilize Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips and are expected to run all Play Store apps without issues. Performance challenges are anticipated due to the incompatibility of Intel silicon with Android software. The initial wave of Googlebooks is available for purchase, with prices starting at 9 for the Acer model. Each device includes a year of Google AI Pro, Nvidia’s GeForce Now, three months of YouTube Premium, and Adobe Photoshop.

AppWizard

October 6, 2026

Google accused of overcharging 20 mil consumers in UK class action

On October 6, Google faced a legal challenge for allegedly imposing excessive charges on Android app developers for over a decade, inflating prices on the Play Store and affecting approximately 20 million customers in the UK. The case, initiated at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, claims Google's 30% commission on digital purchases violates competition law, with potential payouts of £1.2 billion for consumers affected since 2015. Lawyers argue that Google has exploited its market dominance to impose unfair prices, while Google denies any anti-competitive behavior. The scrutiny of app stores has increased globally, with both Google and Apple facing regulatory challenges, including fines imposed on Apple by the EU and a €430 million fine on Google for restricting app developers. The current case follows a ruling that Apple abused its dominant position, indicating potential changes in app store regulations.

Winsage

October 6, 2026

This PowerToys animation is so stunning I’m sad I’ll only see it once

PowerToys is introducing a new Welcome screen designed to enhance the user experience, featuring an engaging out-of-box experience that utilizes Windows' Composition feature to render at 60 frames per second. A clip shared by Niels Laute demonstrates the animation, and further details can be found in a GitHub pull request and a Microsoft support document. This update highlights the importance of aesthetic improvements in software, suggesting that such enhancements could significantly benefit the overall user experience across Microsoft applications.

Winsage

October 6, 2026

Microsoft distinguished engineer fires back at anti-Windows 11 rage-bait, says “more developers use Windows” than Linux or macOS

Microsoft Distinguished Engineer David Fowler addressed a viral post on social media that dismissed Windows as a viable operating system for developers, asserting that Windows is the most widely used operating system among developers. According to Stack Overflow’s 2025 Developer Survey, Windows is preferred by 49.5% of professional developers, while macOS is at 32.9% and Ubuntu at 27.7%. WSL accounted for 16.8%, and Linux outside of WSL garnered 16.7%. In contrast, a poll by The Pragmatic Engineer indicated Windows usage among developers at only 12%, with macOS at 61.6% and Linux at 24.2%. The appeal of Unix tooling is significant for web, cloud, backend, and AI developers, while Windows remains popular among .NET and C# developers, Visual Studio users, and game developers. Microsoft is enhancing its Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to better cater to developers' needs.

AppWizard

October 6, 2026

My favorite open-source Android screen mirroring app is now way faster

Scrcpy 5.0 is a lightweight, open-source tool for screen mirroring Android phones to PCs, released by developer Romain Vimont on GitHub. Key features include: - Native hardware-accelerated video decoding, reducing desktop CPU usage by up to 10 times. - Improved input latency due to offloading video decoding to the graphics card. - Enhanced audio capture capabilities, allowing capture of all audio streams. - Official native Windows on ARM64 binaries for Snapdragon-powered laptops. - Bug fixes and refinements, including improved video buffering and resolution of keypress dropping bugs. Hardware decoding is enabled by default, with an option for users to control or disable it. Scrcpy 5.0 follows the previous version's enhancements in flex display handling.