Google just announced a series of updates to the Play Store in a bid to make it more fun to use. This is part of a broader move by the company to turn its online marketplace into “a comprehensive experience that’s more than just a store.” You read that right. They want us to hang out on Google Play.
Here's what the company has planned. The update brings ai-generated review summaries that mine user opinions to develop a consensus. You've probably already encountered this kind of thing on facebook and when using Google search. The company first announced this feature at this year's I/O event.
This ai-based approach will also be applied to the automatically generated FAQs about each app that work with Gemini models. Additionally, there will be ai-generated highlights that will offer a quick rundown of a particular app. Google showed a still image of this for a photo editing app where highlights included the number of filters and layouts available, plus tools and sharing options. This ai-based approach will also allow users to quickly compare apps in similar categories.
Google is also implementing shared spaces in the Play Store. These are not communities or mini social networks, like Reddit or something like that, but rather home pages for various topics of interest. The company started this project With a pilot involving cricketThe shared space gave Indian users the ability to “explore all their cricket content from multiple channels in one convenient place.” This included relevant videos, around 100 curated cricket-related apps, and some simple user surveys. The next curated space will be about Japanese manga. There’s no word on when this feature will be expanded to multiple categories available to global users.
The “buy a new game to play” experience is also getting an update, with a heavy focus on discovery. Google promises pages with “rich game details,” featuring YouTube videos from developers and clearly marked promotions, which reminds me of Steam. This even extends to the post-purchase experience, as returning users will see updated developer notes and a tips and tricks section. The program is in early access and is currently only available to English-speaking users. There are also some new games coming to Google’s oft-overlooked Play Pass, such as The legends of asphalt unite and candy Crush Sagaand a feature that allows users to play multiple games at once on the PC.
Finally, this update includes some customization features. The new Collections feature offers personalized categories based on previously purchased apps. This means that each Google Play home screen will be different for each user, offering an easy way to continue watching a series or finish a video game.
Many of these improvements are starting to roll out today, though some are still in the early access stage. Others, like the Shared Spaces feature, still have some kinks to work out.
