Google has big new ideas about the Play Store

Google is bringing a fistful of caller features to its Google Play store connected Android today. There are caller categorized “collections” that item contented from apps you’ve already installed. The company’s rewards programme is adding much prizes including Pixel hardware. Google’s Play Pass subscription work is introducing much versatile gaming capabilities. And successful Japan, Google is rolling retired a curated abstraction for comics, which volition fto radical dive into archetypal section previews without needing to instal third-party apps first.

Taken together, these changes are intended to marque Google Play “an end-to-end acquisition that’s much than a store.”

The institution previewed immoderate of the latest updates astatine a media briefing successful New York City connected Tuesday. Google Play VP Sam Bright highlighted a fewer upgrades announced backmost astatine I/O specified arsenic AI-generated app reviews. Those AI features are being expanded with a caller instrumentality that volition marque it simpler to comparison apps successful akin categories (like photograph editing bundle oregon fittingness apps).

Then Bright moved onto immoderate of the bigger caller features. First is simply a caller conception of Google Play called Collections.

Rather than effort and merchantability you connected caller apps, Collections are designed to aboveground contented from those you’ve already installed and signifier everything into categories similar shop, watch, and listen. You’ll spot a proceed watching enactment for assorted streaming apps, positive the latest deals from prime retailers. “With your app contented successful 1 place, it’s easier to prime up close wherever you near off,” Google’s blog station reads.

Gaming is different large absorption of today’s updates. When searching, you tin present prime from a database of involvement filters to refine the types of games that Play suggests. And starting today, Play Pass subscribers connected PC are capable to play aggregate titles astatine the aforesaid time, truthful you tin get your Clash of Clans hole successful 1 model portion playing different crippled elsewhere connected screen. Google launched Play Games for PC arsenic a beta successful 2022 and has continued to iterate connected it with 4K support and present this.

Google is besides trying to marque its Play Points rewards programme much appealing by adding “super play prizes.” Available to gold, platinum, and diamond members, these level up the accustomed prizes by throwing Pixel devices, Razer gaming products, and different hardware into the mix. Super play prizes volition rotate connected a play ground and tin beryllium claimed from the Play Points perks tab.

Android customers successful Japan are getting a caller curated abstraction successful Google Play that’s wholly devoted to comics. “You tin entree comics-related contented each successful 1 spot — including escaped archetypal section previews, unrecorded events and trailers, exertion picks and instrumentality reviews adjacent from apps you haven’t installed,” Google’s blog station reads. A caller “comics” tab is coming close to the Google Play homescreen. The institution is continuing to research however it tin champion usage these curated spaces successful different regions; the archetypal illustration was a cricket conception successful India.

Importantly, Google is besides giving everyone greater power implicit precisely what information is utilized for Play’s personalized recommendations. Now you tin take apps that mightiness incorporate delicate information that you don’t privation to beryllium factored into the store’s personalization algorithms. You tin find this enactment by navigating to “Personalization successful Play” from the main menu.

Will these caller features pb to radical spending much clip successful Google Play? Perhaps, but galore of them (like Collections) are casual to disregard if you similar to support utilizing it arsenic a destination for apps similar always.