Google Play Store

Update 4/19/17: It looks like this feature is now rolling out more widely.

Yesterday we got our first look at a Play Store design tweak currently rolling out to some that changes the look of search results. In addition to that change, it appears that Google is now slowly rolling out a design update that looks similar to what we saw in a leaked “dogfood” version of the Play Store last month…

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Before Google ever pushes out a major update to any of its applications, the company sends a ‘dogfood’ build of the app to their internal beta testers to get their feedback on new features, designs, or anything else. It appears that Google is currently beta testing a brand new Play Store update that revamps the ‘My Apps’ section…

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Google Allo passed 1 million downloads just a few days after its launch, on September 24th. It then passed 5 million downloads only four days later, on September 28th. Now, almost 3 months since that landmark, Allo has passed 10 million installs on the Google Play Store. This means that, in the last 11 weeks, Allo has amassed the same number of new installs as it did in its first week.

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For most people, downloading and updating applications on their phones is a task that takes place while using WiFi, as the files can sometimes be large and use chunks of their monthly data plans. With a new update method being introduced into the Google Play Store, the size of application updates should be dramatically smaller…

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Google seems to be slowly rolling out, via a server-side update, a new layout for the Play Store app that allows you to scroll through app listings via a new card-style layout.

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With Google already selling its first 4K streaming device with the Chromecast Ultra, UHD content is starting to makes its way into the Play Store. The rollout is happening a bit prematurely, but it appears that 4K movies will start at $24.99…

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The Google Play Store commonly gets slight UI tweaks here or there, and sometimes a major update. We’ve had the current UI for about a year, but now it looks like Google is testing another minor update for the app, and it’s already appearing on some user’s devices.

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After first being announced and previewed at WWDC in June of last year, Apple launched its music streaming platform on Android on November 10th. Now, after almost a year of being available to the public (and only a month since it finally exited beta), the app has garnered more than 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store…

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With Google, it’s hit or miss when it comes to how the company designs its apps. It’s also common that a product of Google’s such as Contacts might have a feature on one platform but not on another. With this update to its stock Contacts app, however, users gain the ability to add labels and remove duplicate contacts right from our device.

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As originally telegraphed earlier this year, the Play Store will now allow users to share eligible apps, games, movies, TV shows, or books with up to six people. The Google Play Family Library has a number of controls to manage sharing and is being rolled internationally over the next few days.

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Google notes that Android developers are now more frequently pushing updates to their apps. To insure that the frequent fixes don’t affect user cellular plans, the Play Store has several new features to reduce and be more transparent about data usage.

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HP has today launched the latest version of its lower-end Chromebook, the HP Chromebook 11-inch G5. At first glance there might not appear to be anything special about this laptop, but there are a couple of standout features: the laptop offers more than 12 hours of battery life, and there’s also a model that includes a touchscreen (essential for those planning to take advantage of recently-announced Android app support coming to more Chrome OS devices later this year)…

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