Google Play app listings adding ‘Compatibility for your active devices’ section

Abner Li | May 27 2022 - 12:02 am PT

In addition to the web redesign becoming more widely available, Google Play is rolling out a rather granular “Compatibility for your active devices” section for app listings on Android.

Opening the “About this app” section of a listing and scrolling down to the very bottom reveals “Compatibility for your active devices.” Google explains how:

This section shows you whether this app works on your devices. You’ll only see devices that are linked to your Google Account and that have been active in the last 30 days.

Your phone is listed first — complete with device name — followed by Wear OS watches and then Android/Google TV. Available sections include:

Compatibility: Works on your device
Version
Download Size
Required OS: This first appeared in April under App info and was renamed from “Android OS.”

There’s some overlap with App info, but that section is clearly more generalized, and the new addition is intended to be more straightforward and user-friendly (i.e., “Works on your device”). It reflects how Google Play is very much now a store for more than just phones and tablets. Wearable app development is trending upward, while Android Automotive adoption will continue to grow in the years ahead. Updates like this one make the phone app store an ideal, centralized place to manage everything.

So far, we’ve only spotted this app Compatibility section on one device running version 30.6.16-21 of the Google Play Store. It’s not yet widely rolled out.