Google Play Store

725 'Google Play Store' stories August 2012 - May 2015

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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 Play Store getting custom landing pages, smarter search, and A/B testing

Tom Maxwell May 28 2015 - 2:49 pm PT

Besides improvements in surfacing family-friendly content, Google’s Play Store is getting a couple updates that developers in particular should be happy about, which we learned about today at the company’s I/O conference.

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Google Play Store gaining new features for discovering family-friendly apps, videos, & books

Zac Hall May 28 2015 - 12:29 pm PT

Google gave some stage time today at the I/O conference to a few family-focused changes coming to the Google Play Store. Families can now find age appropriate digital content from apps to game to books to movies and TV shows by tapping a new “Family” button.

This will take you to a section for each media type that allows you to browse for content by age and interest. When you browse the Play Store after tapping the Family button, you’re presented with more than just a curated section of content as other elements of the digital store change as well.
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Google I/O: 4000 Android devices & Wear apps, 17M Chromecasts sold, Android TV/Auto growth, 1B+ users, more

Jordan Kahn May 28 2015 - 10:23 am PT

Google is kicking off its I/O developer conference today with its usual keynote presentation. The focus this year was the future of Android with a lot of stage time dedicated to Android Wear smartwatches, Android M, its new Android Pay service, and much more. Below we’re rounding up some of the stats and numbers shared by Google execs on stage including updates on the user base for its core services and how its new Android platforms have grown over the last year:
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Google Search Console gains new report types for indexed Android apps

Stephen Hall May 22 2015 - 10:47 am PT

Following the recent rebrand of Google’s Webmaster Tools to “Search Console,” the Mountain View company has now announced that it is introducing new reports to help app developers get better insight into how their indexed Android app is performing in search…
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Snake Rewind (from the creator of the original Snake) lands on the Play Store

Stephen Hall May 14 2015 - 7:36 am PT

Snake Rewind has been getting a lot of hype, mostly because it was—at least partially—created by the maker of the original “Snake” mobile game from the 90s. Taneli Armanto in partnership with a game studio by the name of Rumilus Design announced the game earlier this month, but now it has officially landed in the Play Store.

The game is definitely inspired by the ancient dumbphone game, but this version has been updated to meet the tastes of a 2015 mobile gaming crowd. You’ll find a variety of fruit that the Snake can eat, 10 levels all with their own style and music, and the ability to compete against others via leaderboards and Facebook connect.

Here’s the full feature list:

– Rewind the snake to continue the game even after crashing!
– Many different types of special fruit, with unique powers and effects!
– 10 levels with distinct visuals and music, unlocked by completing fun and challenging missions!
– Fruit store where boosters and items can be upgraded and purchased, using fruit that you collect while playing!
– Compete against other players for higher scores and rankings on the leaderboards, connect with friends on Facebook and Game Center!
– Fill the whole screen with the snake and find out what happens then!

You can get Snake Rewind on the Play Store for free (but don’t be surprised if you stumble on a few in-app purchases along the way).

Nova Launcher 4.0 w/ Material Design goes stable, packs a few new features

Stephen Hall May 14 2015 - 7:10 am PT

We told you back in March when the first Material-redesigned beta of Nova Launcher came out, but now Kevin Barry, the app launcher’s creator, has officially released the new Nova Launcher on its stable channel…
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Play Store apps can now be listed as ‘coming soon,’ let you ‘pre-register’

Stephen Hall May 9 2015 - 8:55 am PT

As of sometime yesterday, apps in the Play Store can now be listed in search results as “Coming soon”, and clicking on them takes you to a standard listing page that offers the opportunity to “Pre-register”. The first app to take advantage of this functionality is the upcoming Terminator Genisys: Revolution game from Glu…
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Google reportedly planning to introduce A/B testing for Play Store listings at I/O

Stephen Hall May 5 2015 - 8:05 am PT

According to a report this morning from The Information, Google is planning to introduce an interesting new feature for Play Store listings at this year’s Google I/O developers’ conference. A common practice within apps themselves, new “A/B testing” would allow developers to test multiple versions of their app listings to see which ones bring the most conversions…

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Google Play Store updated w/ new animation, popular quotes from reviews section

Chance Miller May 4 2015 - 2:47 pm PT

Google today has started rolling out an update to the Play Store app that bumps it to version 5.5. The update doesn’t add much, but it keeps with Google’s trend of enhancing the design of its in-house apps. With Play Store 5.5, Google has added a new circular animation that appears when you tap on a TV show title.

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Two major carriers opt out of Microsoft’s deal w/ Samsung to pre-install apps on the Galaxy S6

Zac Hall Apr 16 2015 - 8:21 am PT

You may recall last month that Microsoft announced a major partnership with Samsung to include a number of mobile apps on the flagship Galaxy S6 out-of-the-box. While bundled apps may be considered bloatware for many consumers, the deal meant Microsoft’s Android apps would gain a lot of exposure for adopters of arguably the best 2015 Android smartphone. The results of that deal may vary, though, as two major carriers have introduced roadblocks to some of Microsoft’s apps for their versions of the Galaxy S6…
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Google’s new ‘Designed for Families’ program lets developers mark their apps as kid-friendly

Stephen Hall Apr 14 2015 - 10:39 am PT

Google is inviting developers to opt-in to a new program launching on Google Play, which will distinguish apps that meet certain requirement as being “family-friendly.” The program, called “Designed for Families” is launching “in several weeks,” and will bring a new “family-focused” experience to the Mountain View company’s app store…
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App Roundup: Google updates Maps, YouTube, Inbox, Play Music, more

Stephen Hall Mar 19 2015 - 7:55 am PT

Google tends to push several updates to its apps in the middle of the week, and this week has been a particularly eventful one. Updates have landed over the last 24 hours for several apps in Google’s Android inventory, including Inbox, Google Docs (Sheets and Slides, too), YouTube, Quickoffice, Google Maps, and Google Play Music.

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Google enabling new video-trimming feature in YouTube app for Android

Stephen Hall Feb 27 2015 - 10:08 am PT

When uploading a video to YouTube, especially from a mobile device, it’s pretty common not to want to upload a clip in its entirety. Now, Google says that it is updating the YouTube app for Android to fix this problem—you can now use a new video-trimming feature to cut off the beginning or end of your clip prior to upload.

We’re proud to introduce a new video-trimming feature and inline video previews for our app. Now you can select the exact frame where the video starts and ends, giving you precise control of your trims in a simple, intuitive way. Additionally, there is now an inline video preview before the video is uploaded. And with faster upload capability, it’s never been easier to upload your YouTube videos on-the-go!

Simply drag the frame on both ends of the video to trim it where you’d like, as you can see above, and you can touch and hold the frame to get a closer view of where the video is being trimmed. Then you can tap “got it” when you’re done, and then the app will let you preview what your video will look like prior to publish.

The latest version of the app can be downloaded from the Play Store, but it’s not actually an app update that’s bringing this feature. Users who have already downloaded the YouTube app should see the feature turned on server-side. Notably, it doesn’t look like the iOS app has this feature quite yet.

Google has now paid Android developers $7B in past 12 months; testing sponsored app searches

Ben Lovejoy Feb 26 2015 - 6:03 am PT

Google paid developers a total of $7B in the past 12 months from a mix of app sales and in-app purchases, the company says, closing in on the record $10B payout recently announced by Apple.

Re/code also reports that Google is testing sponsored searches in the Play Store, enabling developers to pay to have their apps show up at the top of searches. Sponsored Play Store searches will work in exactly the same way as they do in the company’s main search engine: developers bidding for keywords, with sponsored apps appearing above organic search results, flagged with a small Ad tag …

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New search box user interface rolling out to Play Store Android app

Stephen Hall Feb 20 2015 - 1:59 pm PT

A server-side update is rolling out the Play Store Android app that packs a pretty subtle-yet-big update to the way search works. Currently, there’s a large toolbar at the top of the app labeled “Play Store,” and searching for something means tapping the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner. This update, which was first posted about on the Google+ page of Kirill Grouchnikov, replaces that toolbar with a much more prominent search box.

Additionally, users will notice that tapping the magnifying glass from elsewhere within the app will slide out the search box from the right. This update will bring the Play Store app more in line with the design of some of Google’s other apps, the one you’re most familiar with likely being the Google Now launcher:

According to another post on Grouchnikov’s Google+ page, the update is coming “soon”. And, as mentioned, this is a server-side update that Google will push over-the-air. Don’t bother checking the Play Store because the app is going to be updated behind the scenes. Like magic.

Google launches official AdWords app for Android, but it’s Canada-only for now

Stephen Hall Feb 18 2015 - 1:41 pm PT

Google has today launched an official app for its AdWords platform, but sadly the company is restricting access to Canada for the time being. This news comes after Google launched its AdWords Express app last year, which was made specifically for the company’s automated AdWords service for small businesses.

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Google’s ‘Helpouts’ mobile apps are no longer available for download

Stephen Hall Feb 13 2015 - 8:31 am PT

Google has today pulled the mobile apps for its Helpouts service from the Play Store and the App Store (via TechCrunch), less than a year after they launched. The service, which allows you to offer on-demand real help to others in live time for a price (or for free), is seemingly no longer available on mobile despite the fact that the apps only launched in April of 2014.
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Google testing a new logo for YouTube that matches mobile apps

Stephen Hall Feb 13 2015 - 6:24 am PT

Google is testing a new logo on YouTube.com, bringing the simpler round-rect icon with a play button to the desktop interface. If you use any of the YouTube mobile apps, you may find this icon to be very familiar.

Here’s a look at the current mobile app icons—the Android version of YouTube is on the left, while the iOS version is on the right:

Notably, the new icon being tested on YouTube.com is very similar—with the exception of some minor details—to the icon for the Android version. Google has yet to actually roll out the new icon to the YouTube website, but you can find more images of the experiment at Google Operating System.

This is what the current version of the YouTube.com logo looks like in comparison:

Nexus 5 reappears on Google Play for $349/$399, ships in 1-2 days

Chance Miller Feb 2 2015 - 12:45 pm PT

Last week during its earnings call, Google acknowledged that it had been having issues keeping the Nexus 6 flagship in stock, and in a totally unexpected move today, the company has put the Nexus 5 back up on the Play Store. The device is listed at its original price of $349 for 16GB at $399 for 32GB.

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Google Play services ceasing in Crimea on 1st February, AdSense & AdWord blocks underway

Ben Lovejoy Jan 23 2015 - 4:26 am PT

Google’s Moscow offices

Google has started to block AdSense and Adwords accounts in Crimea, and Google Play services will cease on 1st February, reports TechCrunch. The moves are being made in order to comply with sanctions on the Crimea region of the Ukraine imposed by the US Government.

Free services, like search, maps and gmail are all expected to remain unaffected, but all services involving payment to or from Google will cease, said Russian site Lenta.ru.

“Google’s prohibited from providing paid services in the Crimea,” a source at Google told Lenta.ru. “In addition, Google cannot make payments to anyone in the Crimea. It is now technically impossible, as almost all international banks have ceased to make payments.”

The US joined the EU in imposing economic sanctions in protest at Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which legally remains part of the Ukraine. TechCrunch notes that the political conflict could escalate, with the possibility that Russian government may retaliate by blocking the sale of US imports into Russia–an important market for many US companies, including Google.

Apple terminated its own agreements with app developers in the region earlier this week, and has announced that all sales of Apple products and services will cease as of 1st February. Other companies are similarly ceasing business in the region, including both Steam and PayPal.

Amazon fires its Mobile Wallet app less than 6 months after its launch

Stephen Hall Jan 21 2015 - 8:09 am PT

Amazon has closed its beta Mobile Wallet app today, marking a step away from the mobile payment space for the Seattle, Washington-based company. We first told you about the app, which served as a hub for gift and loyalty cards, in July of 2014. The app launched in beta and was sadly incapable compared to the app offerings of other companies like Google Wallet and PayPal, not even giving users the ability to load debit or credit cards.

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Instagram inviting Android users to beta testing program

Zac Hall Jan 20 2015 - 1:50 pm PT

Instagram users on Android could soon be using pre-release versions of the photo sharing app before updates hit the Google Play Store.

Instagram is currently inviting testers on Android to take pre-release versions of its social app for a spin through its beta program for users. The social network shared a Google Group found here where potential testers can apply to test and give feedback for versions of Instagram currently being developed.
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Play Store reportedly topped App Store in total apps and developers for the first time in 2014

9to5 Staff Jan 14 2015 - 8:10 am PT

The latest numbers from app metrics tracking firm AppFigures reveal that Google’s Play Store topped Apple’s App Store based on total number of apps and developers for the first time in 2014. Google moved ahead of Apple with 1.43 million Android apps in the Play Store, compared to 1.21 million on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
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Nexus 9 ‘Sand’ color variant finally available on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jan 13 2015 - 7:31 am PT

The Nexus 9 has been out for quite some time now, but the device has—until today—only been available in black and white variations. Now, those in the United States can purchase the device in its third color option, “Sand,” but for the time being there’s only one specific model shipping in that color. You’re going to have to settle for the 32 GB capacity and no LTE compatibility—and a $479 price tag—if you’re interested in grabbing the “Sand” variant today. There’s no telling if Google plans to start shipping other variants of the device in the future, but the one model that the company is offering supposedly leaves the warehouse within a couple business days.

Head over to the Play Store to grab the new color variant.

(via Android Police)