Google introduces new Play Store for large screens

Google has introduced a new Play Store for large screens. “We’ve redesigned the Play Store to help users get the most from their tablets, Chromebooks, and foldables,” the tech giant said in an Android Developers blogpost on Tuesday.

The company introduced four updates to help users find high-quality large screen apps on its app store -- refreshed app listing pages, ranking and quality improvements, streamlined store navigation, and a split-screen search experience.

“Your store listing page is the best way to demonstrate the functionality and value of your app, so we’ve revamped the experience to put your content front and centre,” the tech giant added.

Games with high-quality videos will now show a video banner at the top of their app listing page, allowing users to get a sense of gameplay in an “immersive” way.

The company also reorganised apps and games details pages in a multi-column layout, bringing more of users’ content higher up on the page.

To promote high-quality apps that “shine” on large screens, the tech giant made several ranking changes to boost quality across the Play Store.

“Apps and games that adhere to our large screen app quality guidelines will now be ranked higher in search and Apps and Games Home,” the company said.

“For more seamless browsing, we’ve simplified our store navigation and moved to a left-side navigation rail on larger screens.”

This puts menu items closer to users’ thumbs and makes them more accessible, especially when holding a device in landscape mode.