Google launches Play Pass app subscription service in the US

Subscription services have made their way to games and apps. Google is the newest company joining the fray with the launch of the Play Pass app subscription service. While it's the company's answer to the Apple Arcade, Google might have the upper hand since they included not just games but apps as well. The service is priced at US$4.99 a month, with a limited-time introductory offer of $1.99 per month for the first twelve months. Play Pass comes with a 10-day free trial. The service is currently available in the US only, but it's expected to launch in other countries soon.

Play Pass gives you full access to over 350 games and apps, including Monument Valley 2, Limbo, Stardew Valley, AccuWeather, and FaceTune, to name a few. The service allows you not to see things like ads and in-app purchases while using these games and apps. Google promises that new games will arrive each month. Each subscription can be shared with up to five family members with each member getting individual access. The Play Store has a new tab to show what apps are available through the service.

Leak reveals names of the Google Pixel 4 colours

Based on leaks we're getting three Google Pixel 4 colour options. And that bit of information hasn't changed. What the latest leaks reveal are the names for said colours. According to 9to5Google, we're getting Just Black, Clearly White, and Oh So Orange (no Coral here apparently). There will reportedly be colour cases available as well with less clever names: Blue, Chalk, Black, and Orange.

Google will unveil the Pixel 4 on October 15th. It is expected to come with a Snapdragon 855 processor paired with 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage, a Soli sensor for gesture support, a triple camera system, and Android 10. 

Epic Games reportedly paid US$10 million for 'Control' exclusive

Ever wondered how much it cost Epic Games to have exclusive access to Control on the PC? A new report has the numbers. And if it's accurate, the total amounts to €9.49 million (approx. US$10 million or around CA$13 million). The numbers were discovered in a recent financial report by Control's parent company 505 Games, Digital Bros. The story is in full Italian, but ComicBook claims it looks legitimate. 

Either way, it shows that Epic Games is willing to pay a handsome amount for exclusivity for its PC storefront. What isn't known is if it'll eventually show up on other stores. The possibility that this is sort of a timed-exclusivity agreement is there with the game may be showing up on other storefronts after the deal is over. The game is also available on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Two Android adware apps are taken out of the Play Store

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The discovery of these two Android adware apps is a reminder for us to spring clean our Android devices. If you have Sun Pro Beauty Camera and Funny Sweet Beauty Selfie Camera apps, we're telling you to delete these now. If you need to factory reset your phones, do just that. The two apps with around 1.5 million downloads were found to have access to additional unnecessary permissions that could let them do more malicious things than only serve ads. The apps requested permission to record audio and listen to what's being said around the device at any time. Both of them also have a tool that prevents the APK from being unwrapped and analyzed. It doesn't necessarily mean the intent was to use it for malice. But it does remind us that you need to pay attention to what apps ask from you and whether said apps would need access to these features.

Source: Lifehacker Australia