5 Android apps you shouldn't miss this week! - Android Apps Weekly

• Pokemon Go continued its crusade against root users this week. They actually had been, but now we know for sure. The latest version searches for evidence of root. Users determined that the app uses the storage permission to look around for said evidence. It blocks access when it sees any file that may be part of a root tool. This caused some false positives and that’s what uncovered the app’s activity. It’s a little shady, to be honest, but not unexpected. Many apps are locking root users out these days.
• Reigns and Reigns: Her Majesty are popular arcade style card games. A third one is in the ropes and it’s not like the other two. The third one is a cross-over with Game of Thrones. The mechanics should be fairly similar. However, the game has Game of Thrones scenarios instead of the usual random ones. This is a match made in heaven because Game of Thrones is somewhat unpredictable when it comes to its plot line and character deaths. Reigns is basically the same way. The game launches sometime in October for $3.99. There shouldn’t be any additional in-app purchases.
• Google is working on yet another podcast app. This one goes by the name of Shortwave. We don’t know a lot about it yet, though. So far, it seems to be a cross-platform podcast app with a huge focus on sharing podcasts with friends. This is all from a trademark filing. We don’t know what it looks like, what it actually does, or how it’ll work. However, this would be the third Google app with podcasts behind Google Podcasts and Google Play Music. We can’t imagine what makes this one so different that couldn’t be a part of the other apps as well. We’ll let you know more when we learn more.
• Snapchat has an overhaul coming. You can enable it now if you have root access. The overhaul features some changes. That includes a dedicated screen for Stories, some menu changes, and snappier performance. Snapchat removed some things as well. However, additions and removals may change when it officially launches. Most noted that photo quality didn’t improve much. That’s a shame. In any case, follow the link to find the instructions. They are rather difficult for the inexperienced, though. We don’t recommend rooting just for this.
• Monument Valley is getting a movie! The developers and Paramount Pictures announced the partnership earlier this week via Twitter. The movie should have elements of live action and CGI. We couldn’t imagine a Monument Valley without some CGI anyway. The director is Patrick Osborne. Otherwise, details are a little scarce. This is the latest mobile game with a movie. The last one, Angry Birds, did pretty well. We imagine this one should do pretty well too. We’ll deliver the details when we learn more!

If we missed any big Android apps or games news, updates, or releases, tell us about them in the comments!