Spotify and Google are teaming up to give users on Android smartphones more choice on how they pay for a Premium subscription to the music platform.
From later this year, you'll be able to choose for the payment to either go through Spotify's own system or Google Play Billing instead, according to the latest Spotify Blog Post. The change is expected to come to other big-name apps as well, though we’ve yet to hear specifics.
The initiative is being called ‘User Choice Billing’, and it will give you the option to choose between giving more to the creators of the apps you use or continuing to contribute to Google’s Play Store infrastructure.
But, which payment system is likely to be best for you?
Analysis: Which payment system will be better?
Giving people more choice is rarely a bad thing, but here it definitely feels like you’re being asked to weigh up two nearly identical options.
When Epic Games tried to circumvent Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store payments in Fortnite mobile, it attracted customers by charging less for in-game goodies than if they bought via the third-party. Unfortunately, we don’t expect this will be the case here, as it’s a Google-led initiative.
If Spotify Premium costs less through Spotify than through Google’s Play Store (or vice versa), then you’d have no reason to opt for the pricier option.
So, assuming both systems are equally expensive for the customer which is better? If you want to maximize the portion of your money going to Spotify, then most likely its own private system will be best.
But, for convenience, Google’s billing is likely to be your best option. As all of your subscription payment data is stored in one place, the next time that you get a new debit or credit card you won’t have to remember everywhere that it’s used – you just have to update your details once, and your subscriptions will all continue.
Additionally, it’ll be easier to keep an eye on the subscriptions that you have. It’s not hard to forget that you have recurring billing set up for an app you rarely use, so by storing all of your subscriptions in one location within Google Play, you’d be able to quickly scroll through and find out what you’re paying without having to decode your bank statements.
If the service spreads to other apps and services, it might also give you the option to pay for digital goods without having to give your card details to a platform that you aren’t familiar with.
However, as with all upcoming features, we’ll have to wait and see just how much of a time or money saver 'User Choice Billing' ends up being when it launches.
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While Wordle has been bought by the New York Times for an undisclosed amount, a method has been discovered to play the game offline for years to come, while still being able to share your daily results as normal.
Since the debut of Wordle in November 2021, which was meant by Josh Wardle to be used as a way of keeping in touch with his partner, it’s grown into over 300,000 users playing a day. Sharing your score to Twitter has been a big part of this, with it being unlikely to log on to the social website and not see a tweet with green and white dots.
But some users have been anxious as to how their winning streak would continue, once the buyout by the New York Times is complete. In the past, some games have moved behind a paywall, requiring you to sign up. But while Wardle mentioned in a tweet that saving your streaks is in progress, users have already found alternate ways if the dreaded scenario comes true.
However, with countless copycats having appeared on the App Store, but still appearing on the Google Play Store, there’s a risk that we could see an influx of these once the sale is done.
A time capsule of January 2022
Across the years there have been other games that have taken off, similar to Wordle. Eventually, they either slowly faded away or were bought by another company.
Flappy Bird was one such game in 2013 before the developer took it down from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Stores. There was also Temple Run back in 2011, where there would be leaderboards between my friends and family as to how far we could run.
But Wordle has a userbase that wants to keep the daily routine of solving a word, then sharing it with friends and family. Users have discovered that saving the page in a web browser, will also store the words that are to come for many years.
Wordle is a tiny game that runs entirely in the browser.The daily words are right there in the code, in a giant list. There are thousands of them.Remember these ones?1/x pic.twitter.com/ivca5o8tUVFebruary 1, 2022
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Launching this on Safari on my MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) loaded up Wordle with no issues. I switched off the Wi-Fi, just in case it was trying to reach the site, but sure enough, the latest word was ready to be solved.
The only downside is that my streak is reset – but it’s a small price to pay for the changes that may be coming to Wordle soon.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
I’m expecting a dedicated app to appear on most platforms – from the App Store to the Nintendo Switch in time. The New York Times will want to make the game available on more platforms than just the web. But as long as you can share those green and yellow marbles on social media, users may have no issue with this.
For the time being, Wordle is still the same as it was in December, but if you want to move to your PC or Mac to get ahead of the curve for the changes that may happen to the game in the coming months, it wouldn’t be a bad move.
In a similar fashion to how the original Doom has been ported to countless systems, including retro handheld consoles and even a calculator, Wordle is now available to play on the BBC Micro.
The machine was released in 1981 in partnership with BBC and Acorn Computers, in order to appeal to schools and users who wanted a PC to cater for classrooms and literacy projects.
If you grew up in the eighties and nineties, there’s a good chance you’ve just had a nostalgic flashback, as other games such as PODD, Mr Mephisto and Elite would most likely be installed on a BBC Micro in the corner of a classroom. But in 2022, Wordle looks set to arrive on this iconic machine, if you have one still laying around.
If you're unaware, Wordle is a daily game where you have to guess a five-letter word in six tries or less. There are guides in which letters are correct, but if you lose, you end your winning streak, until you win another.
This unofficial port by Chris Bradburne has a 12,000 dictionary of five-letter words, so you won’t be in danger of words repeating anytime soon.
Analysis – As many ports as DOOM on the horizon?
Playing the game on a BBC Micro works as intended – you get six tries and if you guess the correct letters in the right order, they will be highlighted in green. If they’re right but in the wrong order, these will be yellow.
(Image credit: Chris Bradburne)
It’s a testament to Wordle’s creator, Josh Wardle, that in the space of five weeks, we’ve seen copycats, ports, and unofficial spin-offs such as Lewdle to scratch that five-letter puzzle itch further.
It’s a simple concept but it works brilliantly, but it’s also simple enough that t could be played on almost any device that features some kind of keyboard support.
The next step could be voice control perhaps to help users with accessibility needs. Or one that uses AR to translate sign language into words.
(Image credit: Chris Bradburne)
There’s countless possibilities for Wordle, but Wardle hasn’t attempted to profit off any of this. It’s just a game that has a sole aim to be enjoyed, something that sometimes feels all-to-rare these days.
And in the current gaming world of $ 70 billion acquisitions and what it could mean for certain franchises on non-Microsoft systems, it’s a breath of fresh air.
Back in December, it was revealed that Google had plans to bring Android games to Windows 11 and Windows 10 systems in 2022. The company is ready to show more of its hand, with a small beta release of the Google Play Games service.
This means that eager gamers in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan have the chance to sign up and play their favorite Android games on Windows.
It's a move that sees Google competing directly with the Windows ecosystem for the Android component of Windows 11 that, in conjunction with the Amazon Appstore, gives users of the latest version of Windows the opportunity to install Android apps and games.
Google has developed a unique app that can be used to access a growing catalog of games, which includes Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Summoners War, State of Survival: The Joker Collaboration, and Three Kingdoms Tactics. Although the app has not officially launched just yet, there is a beta program underway that can be used to get early access to it.
Cross platform gaming on Windows
With the app installed on a Windows PC, gamers will be able to play the cream of the gaming crop across mobile, tablet, Chromebook, and Windows PC devices – complete with the benefit of playing with a mouse and keyboard.
While sign-ups for Google Play Games beta are now open, they are only open to people in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, so if you have accounts based in these countries, you're in luck. Otherwise, you may have to wait.
There's more information available here – otherwise, you'll just have to wait until Google launches Google Play Games to PC users worldwide.
As the company has confirmed that more countries having access will be announced soon, we suspect a bigger announcement of the service will come at this year's Google I/O, where Android 13 will most likely be announced.
Google has shared a video, showcasing what you can expect from Google Play Games:
While Google does promise that it “will have more to share on future beta releases and regional availability soon”, it's an intriguing stance from the company in avoiding the Microsoft Store completely, and it may lead to more categories from the Google Play Store, arriving on Windows 11 soon after.
Since Parallels Desktop 17 was released earlier this year, we’ve been inspired to try out many games on Apple’s M1 Macs in how they run through virtualization.
With many tests impressing us so far, such as Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes running at full speed in 1440p on high settings, we’re still testing more games from other storefronts to see how far these Macs will go.
But you may have already received a new Mac this Christmas, and you’re already trying out Apple Arcade or games from the Mac App Store.
With this in mind, we’ve curated five games that will run great on your new Apple Silicon Mac, but are also perfect to play during the Christmas holidays.
Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair
(Image credit: Future)
Released in 2019 by Playtonic, a team of ex-Rare veterans and more, this is the second entry into the Yooka Laylee series after the first game had a successful Kickstarter, and was released to positive reviews.
This entry is 2D based, which is inspired from the Donkey Kong Country games of Rare's past. Here, you run through a series of worlds and levels to collect quills and T.W.I.T. coins, as well as to free a member of the 'Beetalion' crew. These will grant Yooka and Laylee additional 'hit points' to use when you reach the final level.
While you can play this game on Steam, we also saw no issues in playing the game on the Epic Games app within Parallels as well. Everything played well on high settings on both the M1 Mac mini and M1 Pro MacBook Pro, so if you want a great 2D platformer to pass the holidays with, Yooka and Laylee can greatly help with that.
Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain
(Image credit: TechRadar)
To date, an entry from the Metal Gear series has not seen a release on the Mac, but thanks to Parallels, you can play the fifth game with little issues.
Released in two parts – Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain that are available on Steam, you control Big Boss, or Phantom Snake as he's called here, where you need to infiltrate certain bases to rescue or recruit crew members to build out an army at a base called Outer Heaven.
While there are rumors pertaining to this day of the final game being unfinished, due to a missing chapter at the end, that doesn't make the game feel any less fun. The story, while confusing, is made up of the amount that you can do during a mission, You can drop in or be picked up in certain areas, and complete the tasks in different ways.
On the M1 Macs, you can easily run the game at a 1440×900 resolution at medium settings and have a great time. However, if you have a Mac with the M1 Pro or Max chip, you will be able to run the game on its highest settings with no issues.
Everything runs as expected, and over the holidays, it's a great game to lose yourself in.
Grand Theft Auto IV
(Image credit: Future)
While many are waiting to hear about a Grand Theft Auto VI, the fourth entry is one that gets overlooked the most from the series.
The first in the 'high-definition' series, its purpose was to remake Liberty City, the location from the third game, into this wide-sprawling city.
You control Eastern European war veteran Nico Bellic this time, where you're on a mission to help your family and friends by working with the local Mafia. Across four districts, you're soon flying helicopters and arranging dates to build up your reputation across the city.
The control is arguably better than Grand Theft Auto V, where driving has a better feel here, with more heft and better variation when you drive different vehicles across the city.
While the multiplayer mode was removed in 2020, the single-player mode available on Steam is still a lot of fun. On an M1 Mac, you can expect to play the game in high settings with no issue, but with an M1 Pro/Max Mac, you'll be able to play the game at a 2540×1440 resolution with no issues.
Tomb Raider: Legend
(Image credit: TechRadar)
With 2021 marking the 25th anniversary of the Tomb Raider series, you may have a favored entry that you go back to for some Lara Croft nostalgia.
However, while you can play the first three Tomb Raider games in Parallels with no issue, the seventh game, released in 2006 on Steam, is worth a playthrough over the holidays.
It's the first entry created by Crystal Dynamics, where Lara receives a soft reboot in her story and appearance, but with the gameplay being updated for the mid-noughties.
The controls here are much looser here than before, where you can play the game with a keyboard and mouse and have a good time.
Sprawled across 10 levels, from Bolivia to Kazakhstan, you're on a quest to find King Arthur's Excalibur in order to find Lara's missing Mother. It's a simple story, but it's where the gameplay shines. You're given a grappling hook that can attach to ledges and blocks to solve a variety of puzzles, alongside finding secret treasures that can unlock costumes for Lara.
For a game released in 2006, it still plays well today, and especially so on an Apple Silicon Mac. You can play the game at high settings, on a high resolution with no issues here.
Sonic Generations
(Image credit: Future)
This was a game that was designed to celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary back in 2011 on Steam. Sonic Generations is one of the few 3D Sonic games that's fondly remembered, mainly due to how it honors the series' past.
Every level here is a remake of what came before, from Green Hill Zone in Sonic 1, to Sky Sanctuary Zone in Sonic 3. There are nine stages, with an additional stage of Casino Night Zone, from Sonic 2, where you merely collect enough rings in a pinball machine to complete the level.
Every level is as entertaining as the last, where you play a 3D and a 2D version of it, depending on the type of Sonic you pick. There's also plenty of collectibles that you earn by finding hidden red rings across the stages, which can unlock music, skills and more.
Running the game on an M1 Mac, it can stutter if all settings are on high, especially with the shaders. But when running in medium settings on a 1920×1080 resolution, you'll be running across Chemical Plant Zone with no issues.
However, playing Sonic Generations with an M1 Pro / Max Mac, you can easily play with high settings at a 2560×1440 resolution with rarely any stutters.
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