Google Play Store For Larger Display Launched With Apps For Foldable Smartphones, Tablets, And Chromebooks

Published: Thursday, July 27, 2023, 15:49 [IST]

Google has finally launched a dedicated version of the Android Play Store that is designed and optimized for large-screen devices. The apps listed in the new virtual marketplace are intended for foldable smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks.

There are millions of Android devices that feature a large display. However, they too had to hunt for apps and games, on the Google Play Store that is intended for conventional Android smartphones. Let’s take a look at the new and improved Android app store and its features.

Google Launches Play Store Optimized For Tablets, Chromebooks, And More

The quality, resolution, and user-friendliness of apps and games play a critical role in defining the user experience. Google is well aware that User Interface, search functions, and optimizations are key aspects but for a long time, foldable Android smartphone, tablet, and Chromebook users had to rely on the Google Play Store meant primarily for candy-bar smartphones.

Moving forward, the improved Google Play Store apps and game listing pages will make it easier for users to determine the quality of these apps. The search giant claims games will show a video banner on top of the page listing page to demonstrate gameplay.

Play Store listings will now show a columnar view of app listings. This will allow large-screen device users to view more information about apps and games.
Navigating the Play Store is now optimized for browsing on a large screen. The navigation bar on the left side can be easily reached with the thumb in landscape mode. The bar has three options – Games, Apps, Books, and Kids.

Observing that tablets are majorly used by children, the Kids section is now the primary tab on these devices. Additionally, Google has moved the Categories and Top Charts section to Apps and Games home.

The new tablet/foldable experience on the @GooglePlay Store looks amazing! pic.twitter.com/Hiwy6eCecL

— Michael (@MichaelBTech) July 26, 2023

The new Google Play Store for large-screen devices has a split-screen search feature. It better utilizes the bigger display of tablets and foldable smartphones for an improved search experience.

Needless to mention, the feature allows users to see search results and app listing pages side by side. This helps users avoid going back and forth between search results and app listings.

Google Play Store For Large Screen Devices Gets Improved App Rankings and Quality

All apps and games that comply with Google’s large-screen app guidelines will be brought to the top of the search results and the home page. The app marketplace will follow the same UI and UX guidelines for Editor’s Choice and other curated lists.

The new Play Store will also show warnings on top of the page listings of apps and games. This will be applicable only for apps and games with a minimum 8 percent user-perceived crash rate or ANR (Application Not Responding) rate.

The new and improved Google Play Store for large screens will start rolling out to applicable or eligible devices in the next few days. Google has promised that it will gradually offer more features and functions for Android devices with larger screens. Google seems to have focused on large-screen devices only after launching the Google Pixel Fold, its first foldable Android smartphone.

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