Google expands ‘Work Apps’ Play Store section to legacy Android devices

Google announced in a post on its G Suite Updates blog today that users of legacy Android devices will be able to view the new Work Apps section in the Play Store. This means that employees with devices running older versions of Android can easily see apps aggregated by their employers.

Google first announced the Work Apps section for the Play Store last month as a place for employers to curate applications for their workers. Users with legacy devices that did not support work profiles, however, were unable to see the new Work Apps section.

With today’s announcement, though users of older devices can now access the Work Apps tab.

Previously, however, employees with Android devices that did not support work profiles could not see the Work Apps tab and the apps their admins had curated. This included any users with Android devices running 5.0 Lollipop or less.

With this launch, employees with these older devices can now access the Work Apps tab in Google Play (in their personal profile) and the apps their admins have curated.

This is notable for organizations that distribute Android phones in bulk to employees, but as time advances we’d expect the number of company’s using such old devices to decrease at a rather brisk pace.

As you can see in the screenshots below, you can access the new Work Apps section via the Play Store.