Apps

Duterte Fighting Crime app popular among Android users

Published

April 21, 2016

Monch Lopez

It seems Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte isn’t just popular among respondents of election surveys; he’s favored among Android users as well. Or at least his image of a crime-busting vigilante is anyway.

A 2D side-scrolling action game called Duterte Fighting Crime has been trending on the Google Play store lately. In it, you take control of the admittedly foul-mouthed mayor as he takes to the streets to dispense vigilante justice using assorted firearms.

Developed by Tatay Games, the app has already hit 100,000 downloads on the Android app store, which is fairly impressive given its novelty and the simple nature of its design.

Controls are straightforward, with the game relying on just three on-screen buttons to move forward or back and shoot. Players earn a point for every enemy killed, unless a multiplier is in effect. The objective is to earn as many points as possible without getting whacked or stabbed by enemies ranging from a bank robber to a Jason Vorhees (of Friday the 13th fame) stand-in.

I’ve played the game, and found the fun doesn’t last past a few rounds. But hey, it doesn’t cost anything so I can’t complain too much. For what it’s worth, I did find the game’s avatar to be a faithful representation of the seven-term mayor of Davao. The app even incorporates audio clips from past interviews.

Interestingly enough, there’s a growing number of Duterte-branded games and apps on Google Play and the iOS App Store, but none for other presidential candidates. Is it just coincidence? Or are these apps cogs of a clever propaganda machine to spread the narrative that Duterte is hope made physical, the unorthodox yet effective challenger to the status quo?

Major opinion polls suggest Rodrigo Duterte is the front-runner to be the next Philippine president when election results come in on May 9. Duterte represents a paradigm shift for traditional politicians, with his tactless comments and take-no-prisoners approach to crime and desire to radically change the current political system.

He has won millions of supporters after transforming Davao into one of the country’s safest cities, but faces allegations of death squads and human rights violations.

The 71-year-old politician once again found himself in hot water four days ago after a video of him telling a rape joke went viral. Duterte later apologized for the incident, only to flip-flop on the matter later.

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Related Topics:Android apps Google Play Rodrigo Duterte

Apps

YouTube makes picture-in-picture mode free for everyone globally

The update is rolling out globally now.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) mode is a godsend for multitaskers. The feature lets users watch videos in a tiny floating window while doing other tasks. However, the feature isn’t readily available for all users. Or wasn’t, at least. YouTube is now rolling out PiP mode for free globally.

Previously, PiP mode was exclusive to YouTube users who pay for Premium or Premium Lite. It was also exclusive to the United States.

Now, YouTube is making the feature completely free for users all over the globe. It will be available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

There’s still a catch, though. The free version is available only for “longform, non-music content.” The same goes for Premium Lite subscribers. Music is still an exclusive feature for those who pay for the regular version of Premium. Basically, there is no change for paying users or users in the United States.

Using PiP mode is simple. All you need to do is load up a video you want to watch in the background. Then, just exit the YouTube app and go about your other tasks. The video will be inside a floating, resizable window while you look at other things.

There’s no timeline on when the update will reach your device. However, YouTube has promised that it will roll out globally within the coming months.

Apps

Google might be moving away from flat design

Bye bye, Material Design.

Published

April 27, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

It’s time to kindly shove off, flat design. After over a decade of Google’s Material Design, Android is finally showing signs of ditching flat, monotonous colors. In a series of logo redesigns, Google is reportedly trying out gradients as its latest reinvention.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Google is moving forward with incorporating gradients into its designs. Previously, the company started changing the icons of a few first-party apps including Photos and Maps. Now, it seems that the new design philosophy will reach the rest of Google’s suite.

In the obtained designs, the rest of Google’s plethora of apps will no longer look static. The splash of gradient adds the feeling of layering without losing the company’s roots in flat design. Docs and Sheets, for example, look like a light shining on pieces of paper.

Image source: 9to5Google

It’s unknown when Google plans to incorporate the new philosophy. However, with Google I/O coming fast, it’s fair to bet that an update might come out around that time, especially since that event’s logo already has gradients.

Google’s evolution is not without its precedent. Besides the company’s small trial previously, Apple’s iOS has also made inroads into more three-dimensional designs with the new Liquid Glass. However, unlike Apple, Google’s newest design is a far cry from the former’s return to Windows Vista aesthetics.

Personally, I don’t mind the transition to 3D, as long as it’s done well. Though still visually pleasing, flat design has started overstaying its welcome. It’s time to try something new.

Apps

Significantly better ChatGPT Images 2.0 launches

Stronger creative reasoning, better design output, more formats, improved overall experience

Published

April 22, 2026

GadgetMatch

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Images 2.0. This updated image generation model has a meaningful jump over competitors and its current ImageGen 1.5.

Now available across ChatGPT, Codex and the API, Images 2.0 delivers stronger creative reasoning, better design output, more flexible formats, and a faster, more intuitive user experience.

Paid users (Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise) will benefit from a more advanced image experience (ImageGen Thinking 2.0). The state-of-the-art model can take on complex visual tasks and produce precise and immediately usable visuals.

ChatGPT Images 2.0 is likewise better for creative and professional use cases. It has a significantly better performance at producing text-heavy assets, infographics, product mockups, UI concepts, and more structured visuals.

Moreover, users can generate images in a wider range of aspect ratios. The outputs are limitless, from posters to comics or anime to detailed infographics to simple images. API users, on the other hand, will also have access to 4K resolution.

To try the upgraded image generation model, simply head to ChatGPT and select “Images” in the sidebar.

Users will be able to see the top five prompts as well, curated by OpenAI, for them to try. This is to highlight the capabilities of the new model.

Overall, ChatGPT Images 2.0 offers a more seamless experience on mobile, web, and desktop. The intuitive user experience includes improved prompt suggestions, loading states, editing features, and multi-output views.