Last Updated on March 17, 2022 by Anu Joy
Google has announced its plans to push new updates to improve the method of finding apps on the Play Store for tablets. With the Androd12L launch already announced, the company seems to be focusing on big screen devices. In order to resolve the prolonged issue of tablet users, the company has laid out a plan to help users find and install compatible apps on their devices easily.
Shared via a blog post, the plan mainly focuses on ranking the apps based on their device compatibility to help users find the best-optimized apps for their device. Let us find out what the new updates have in store for tablet users.
Finding Apps On Play Store Will Become Easier For Tablet Users
Unlike other devices, finding an app on the Play Store has never been an easy task for tablet users. Once discovered, installing the app and having little idea about its compatibility with the device makes the experience even worse. Considering the accelerating demand for big-screen devices, the tech giant has decided to address the issue by pushing a host of new updates over the coming months.
Also Read: Google Focusing On Tablets With Android 12L, Android 13, Hopes To See Tablet Sales Surpass Laptops
Google has shared a detailed plan via the Android Developers Blog, which primarily focuses on three new updates to the Play Store—ranking and promotability changes, alerts for low-quality apps, and device-specific ratings and reviews.
- Ranking and Promotability Changes: The ranking logic on the Play Store will now take into account a set of features from basic compatibility requirements, such as portrait and landscape support, to more differentiated requirements like keyboard and stylus capabilities. This will affect how apps show up in search results and recommendations on the homepage, with the goal of helping users find the apps that are best optimized for their device.
- Alerts for Users Installing Low Quality Apps: If tablet users try to install an app that may not work well on their devices, an alert will pop up to warn them of this. Google hopes this will help set expectations for how apps will look and function post-install.
- Device-Specific Ratings and Reviews: Users will soon be able to see ratings and reviews split by device type (e.g. tablets and foldables, Chrome OS, Wear, or Auto) to help them make better decisions about the apps that are right for them. In other words, if an app works incredibly well on a phone but terribly on a tablet, a tablet user will see a rating for tablets only.
Well, this sounds like a plan! While Google has not provided any specific timeframe for the rollout of the planned updates, we should likely see the improvements over the coming months.
What do you think of the upcoming updates planned for the tablet users? Do let us know in the comments section below.
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