Android hasn’t been the best platform for tablet users over the years, but Google has promised to change that. It looks like the company is delivering on that promise, as it’s optimizing more than 20 Google Apps for tablets. Now, the Google Play Store is getting its overdue tablet optimizations.
We’ve known about Google’s vow to improve the Android tablet experience since the company announced Android 12L last year. Now, we know that the company is developing a Pixel tablet and will launch it sometime next year. That let us know that Google really is serious about fixing the tablet experience on Android.
The Play Store tablet optimizations are finally coming
Google has been working on optimizing its apps for tablets, and we’ve seen the fruits of its labor. Now, the company is turning its eyes toward the Play Store. According to 9To5Google, the latest version of the Google Play Store (version 32.5.16-21) brings some notable changes to the app’s interface.
The changes to the interface aren’t too significant. The buttons are still on the left side of the screen and the tabs and search bar are at the top. The Google Play icon on the top left no longer has the “Google Play” text, and the selected buttons are enclosed in a small oval, not a long pill. The play points, notifications, and profile button are on the top right of the screen.
The main change is the use of space. The buttons are further down on the screen and they’re a bit bigger to occupy more space. Also, the app icons are notably bigger. Other than that, there aren’t any other major changes.
This isn’t a massive overhaul, but it makes the interface more pleasing for tablet users. When the Pixel Tablet launches next year, it will use these optimized Google apps right out of the box. Until then, Android users can get a glimpse of how the interface will look for that device.
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