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Angry Birds Star Wars launches, Pinterest tests secret boards, and Starbucks adds Square Wallet payments

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A few notable apps either launched or announced headlining news today, so 9to5Google gathered the most noteworthy ones in a roundup below. Our sister website, 9to5Mac, publishes app roundups on a daily basis, and now we attempt to do the same here for the most important changes happening in the Google Play store. We will also continually update this list throughout the day, so keep checking back for more details.

1. Angry Birds Star Wars
The highly-anticipated (and much-teased) Angry Birds Star Wars is now available in Google Play (video atop). Developer Rovio has long been working with the recently Disney-acquired LucasArts to bulk its popular app lineup with a Star Wars-themed iteration of Angry Birds that brings new creative and play experiences to the franchise.

The latest Rovio title ditches the traditional exploding/flinging Angry Birds for a slew of new bird characters each wielding a unique weapon. The Han Solo bird, for instance, halts enemies with a three-shot space gun. The game also features iconic Star Wars locations, 80 immersive levels, “hours and hours” of gameplay, fresh mechanics, and new level-up capabilities for birds.

Check it out:

Angry Birds Star Wars also landed on the Mac, iOS, Amazon Kindle Fire, and Windows 8 platforms today.

More apps below.

Related articles:

2. Pinterest
A new Holiday-handy version of Pinterest is now available in Google Play.

Pinterest is gradually rolling out a test feature that allows users to create up to three secret boards. To create a board from an Android device, download the most recent version of Pinterest, go to profile, tap the Boards tab, and then select “Create a Secret Board” at the bottom. Go to Pinterest’s support page to learn more about secret boards.

“You can use secret boards to keep track of holiday gifts, plan a special event, or work on a project you aren’t yet ready to share with the rest of the world,” announced Pinterest in an official blog post. “You can keep your secret boards to yourself or invite family and friends to pin with you.”

Check it out:

The new Pinterest also landed for iOS today.

3. Square Wallet
Starbucks just revealed it will officially begin accepting Square Wallet mobile payments at 7,000 stores via a scanned QR code.

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“Starbucks believes in the values and vision of Square, and just three months after announcing our partnership with Square, we are thrilled to make the convenience of paying with the Square Wallet app available to our customers starting today,” announced Starbucks in a press release.

To use Square Wallet at Starbucks, download the app to an Android device. Users must set up an account by adding a debit or credit card. Once the app is open, tap “pay here”, and then scan Starbucks’ QR code. A digital receipt will appear instantly.

Check it out:

The new capability also landed for iOS today.

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