Google Play Store

756 'Google Play Store' stories August 2012 - September 2018

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Before the unified Play branding, Google had the Android Market, Google Music, and Google eBookstore. Google decided to merge and rebrand its individual digital offerings into the Play Store in March of 2012.

The Play Store is now the default place to purchase apps, movies & television, music, books, and news subscriptions for all Android devices. The latter four offerings having their individual Android and iOS apps to watch, listen, and read purchased content. Most content can also be accessed through the web.

In April of 2016, the suite of icons were redesigned in a similar style to provide a consistent look across all devices and the web.

Google working on ‘Play Points’ loyalty program for the Play Store [APK Insight]

Abner Li Sep 5 2018 - 11:42 am PT

google play points US

Over the past year, Google Play — and other app stores — have worked to increase curation through editorial content and top lists. A concurrent trend has been letting users beta test apps and games ahead of launch in a move that also helps developers find bugs. The Play Store is now working on a loyalty program called “Play Points.”

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Google Play giving developers more insight into how users are discovering Android apps

Abner Li Aug 24 2018 - 11:05 am PT

Google Play Store

App Store curation is a trend on both Android and iOS with Google last year introducing an Editors’ Choice section featuring editorial lists and recommendations. Google is now providing developers with more insight into how users are discovering apps on the Play Store.

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Google wants to increase Wear OS app quality with mandatory Play Store review

Abner Li Aug 15 2018 - 12:59 pm PT

With a “lead smartwatch” coming this fall and rumors of a Google-made Pixel wearable, Wear OS has seen a flurry of activity in recent weeks. Google today announced a new initiative aimed at improving Wear app quality by instituting a Play Store review process.

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Google, Epic Games, Fortnite, lawsuit

Google Play officially acknowledges that Fortnite is not in the Play Store

Abner Li Aug 10 2018 - 1:10 am PT

Earlier this month, Epic Games detailed that Fortnite would require a direct APK download and install. With the game officially launching yesterday on Samsung devices and a general Android beta opening this weekend, Google is acknowledging that the hit gaming sensation is not available through the Play Store.

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Google Play Store testing card-based search interface w/ thumbnails

Ben Schoon Jul 19 2018 - 10:23 am PT

Google is constantly testing out new tweaks to its interface in various applications, and today a new Play Store search UI is rolling out to some users.

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Search in Google Play Store broken as Android app results endlessly repeat

Abner Li Jul 3 2018 - 12:35 pm PT

Google Play Store

Just last week, some users encountered a bug on the Play Store that prevented them from seeing a developer’s full list of applications. Another similar bug has now emerged that results in duplicate Android app listings when searching.

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Google names top Android Excellence apps and games for Q3 2018

Abner Li Jul 3 2018 - 10:18 am PT

With the Android Excellence program last year, Google replaced the Editors’ Choice section of the Play Store. Focused on editorial curation and lists, this quarterly collection highlights the best Android apps, games, and experiences, with the latest July 2018 edition now available.

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Google Play Store bug prevents you from viewing a developer’s full list of Android apps

Abner Li Jun 29 2018 - 10:35 am PT

Google Play Store

For the past several days, an odd Play Store bug has prevented users from seeing a developer’s full list of available apps. On Android, scrolling through “All apps” will instead duplicate listings and be endlessly scrollable.

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Google Play’s redesigned Subscription Center simplifies recurring Android app bills

Abner Li Jun 20 2018 - 1:57 pm PT

Google Play Store

Announced at I/O 2018, Google Play’s new Subscription Center is now widely rolled out to provide users with an easier way to manage recurring payments from Android apps and services. The redesign features simplified options, while developers are gaining more tools to monetize applications.

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Android apps installed peer-to-peer will appear in Play Library, gain offline protections

Abner Li Jun 19 2018 - 10:35 am PT

Google Play Store

Last year, Google announced that Android apps would incorporate security metadata to verify that it was officially distributed by the Play Store. Today, Google is expanding that data to include additional verification for installs through peer-to-peer sharing.

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google photos app

How to turn on automatic app updates on Android

Justin Duino May 12 2018 - 1:16 pm PT

To make sure you get the latest features and security fixes, it’s essential to regularly update the apps on your Android devices. So that you don’t need to manually do this every couple of days, you can have the Play Store automatically update your apps whenever a newer version is available. Here’s how.

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2018 Google Play Award winners highlight the top Android apps and games

Abner Li May 7 2018 - 9:03 pm PT

In a departure from previous years, the Google Play Awards were unveiled on the eve of I/O 2018. With nominees first announced late last month, these are the top Android apps and games as chosen by Google employees throughout the company.

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2018 Google Play Award nominees announced highlighting best Android apps & games

Abner Li Apr 24 2018 - 10:00 am PT

Since 2016, the Google Play Awards have recognized the top apps and games for Android available on the Play Store. The nominees for the 2018 edition are now out with several new categories focussing on growth areas and recent trends.

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Google Play Store 9.7 testing a nearly full-white UI, ‘similar app’ badges [APK Insight]

Ben Schoon Apr 18 2018 - 2:02 pm PT

New Play Store UI tests are always underway on Android. Google has revamped the Play Store with some new designs in the past, and in the latest version, it seems the company is preparing a brand new, nearly all-white design for the app…

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These Material Design 2-inspired concepts imagine the next iteration of the Google Play Store [Gallery]

Ben Schoon Apr 10 2018 - 10:41 am PT

Since the debut of Material Design, Google’s designs have been my favorite. However, it’s been quite a long time since Material Design first landed, and the look of various Google apps is starting to get stale. With Material Design 2 supposedly on the horizon, we’ve been curious what the company has in store, and thanks to a new concept, we can imagine what that will look like…

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Google Play names best Android Excellence apps and games for Q2 2018

Abner Li Apr 5 2018 - 12:22 pm PT

Google last year revamped Editors’ Choice on the Play Store to Android Excellence with a new focus on editorial content and lists. This quarterly collection highlights the best Android apps, games, and experiences, with the latest edition now available.

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Google Play Store

Google Play Store to beta test in-line video ads for apps

Abner Li Mar 15 2018 - 8:38 am PT

Ahead of the Game Developers Conference next week, Google’s ad services are launching new tools to help gaming developers better advertise apps. This includes video ads in the Play Store and more types of rewarded ads.

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How to join the Google Play Services beta on Android

Justin Duino Feb 6 2018 - 1:43 am PT

Typically, when Google rolls out an update to Play Services, it introduces new features or functionality to Android. One instance of this was when Google rolled out Assistant to most modern smartphones. If you want these updates even earlier, you can enroll in Google Play Services beta track. Here’s how…

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How to update Google Play Services on Android

Justin Duino Feb 1 2018 - 10:59 pm PT

Google Play Services, just like most apps, gets updated through the Play Store. And just like with some apps, Play Services doesn’t get updated on the device as soon as a new version is available. Here’s how to manually update Google Play Services…

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Google Play Store Android

How to download applications on Android from the Google Play Store

Justin Duino Feb 1 2018 - 1:53 am PT

If you’re new to the Android platform, one of the first things you need to know how to do is download and update applications. Here’s a quick Android Basics to get you started…

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Google Play details 2017 protections against copycat, inappropriate, & malware Android apps

Abner Li Jan 30 2018 - 9:59 am PT

Google Play Store

Platforms with any scale have the chance to be abused and the Play Store is no exception. Today, Google detailed its efforts to protect users throughout 2017, including removal stats and its latest machine learning techniques.

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Google testing tweaked ‘Free up space’ uninstall feature for the Play Store

Abner Li Jan 25 2018 - 2:11 pm PT

Google Play Store

Given the “Free up space” feature in Google Photos and the recent launch of Files Go, storage management is a significant issue for some users. The Play Store has long had a similar feature to delete apps, but Google is now testing a more prominent revamp of the functionality.

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Audiobooks launch in Google Play Books with new store and Assistant, Cast integration

Abner Li Jan 23 2018 - 9:29 am PT

Google Play Books

Over the weekend, Google Play inadvertently teased the launch of an audiobook store and listening feature. Today, that functionality is officially launching as part of Play Books and includes integration with Google Assistant.

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Google Play names the best Android apps and games for Q1 2018

Abner Li Jan 11 2018 - 12:25 pm PT

Back in June, Google announced a new Editors’ Choice section for the Play Store. Besides topical curated lists of apps and games, Google Play also publishes a quarterly collection of the absolute best Android experiences, with the latest one now available.

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