Google is continuously putting efforts into enhancing their user experience.
The tech giant recently made major updates at the security front, with the most significant ones being the extended app review time and removal 85 adware-infected apps. And now, to keep up with the pace of bettering user experience that it has found for itself, Google has turned its focus on the look and feel of the Play Store.
Google team has introduced a Play Store redesign with changes that have already started delivering a pleasant experience to all.
Something which we will talk about in this blog in detail.
[While we will only be covering the Google Play Store redesign update in this blog, you can check for iOS 13 App Store update here.]
Changes Rolling Out in the Google Play Store Redesign Update
1. White Play Store Interface
Inspired from the homepage of Google.com, the Play Store interface is now pure white in color. Only the main headings like Apps, Games, Movies, and Books have been kept in bold colors to make it easier for users to see which category is being displayed on the screen. Also, some more colours have been added to the thumbnails.
2. Support for Material Design
The new Play Store UI has also come loaded with Material Design – one of the key Android P features. This update is expected to make developers understand the impact of Material design on mobile appearance and embrace it.
In addition to this, line separators have been removed to give a more refined, clean and spacious UI look.
3. Relocation of Tabs
The content tabs, which were earlier shown on the upper side, are now available at the bottom. This will bring into the opportunity to perform actions in the Play Store single-handed.
4. Gesture-Enabled Options
The revamped Google app design also supports gesture controls – one of the features Android borrowed from Apple’s iOS. This clearly means that you can now navigate and perform actions more efficiently on the interface.
5. Absence of ‘Music App’ Tab
Another major difference that you will find after this Google Play Store redesign is the absence of Music tab. Meaning, there are only four tabs – Games, Apps, Movies, and Books – in the Play Store new UI design.
And the reason behind this is that Google Music will soon be replaced by YouTube Music streaming app.
Note:
- Currently, you can find Google Music app on Play Store by tapping on the sidebar of the main home page.
- None of your uploads will be deleted once the Google Play Music app is thrown out of crown by YouTube music.
6. Dual-Pane Table UI
The new revamped Play Store design has also come up with a dual-pane tablet UI. That means it will come up with better guidelines to make Android apps fit to larger screens efficiently and effectively.
This is expected to be an aftereffect of Google’s native support for foldable devices, as revealed at the I/O 2019 conference. And, is predicted to bring a major difference in the lives of both Android app developers and users.
While users will enjoy better experience while interacting with Play Store from their Chromebooks and tablets, developers will be encouraged to consider both smartphones and tablet screens during Android application development.
In addition to these updates in Play Store, many minor changes have also been noticed, including:-
- The new design elements have rounded edges.
- App pages are revised such that the main focus remain on prime elements like ratings and media content.
- Progress bar has been taken over by a circle around the app’s icons which fills according to the download speed.
With this attended to, let’s move onto the next question, i.e, What’s the reason behind this Google Play Store redesign.
The Google’s Strategy Behind This Play Store Revamp
As announced earlier, the major Android Q update is expected to hit the market anytime in the coming weeks with various features including Dark Mode. Though Google has made it compulsory for all the apps to be ready to support dark theme before Android Q rolls out, many are still not looking in this direction. So, Google has introduced this all-white UI design to make a way for dark mode theme on all the devices.
In other words, it’s a Google’s design strategy to encourage all apps and interfaces to be remodeled according to all-white, monochrome design. And then use it further for bringing dark mode theme on all the applications easily.
Again, this is a great sign for both Android mobile app experts and users. While users will sooner find all of the Google-powered applications supporting dark mode, developers will also have to update their applications accordingly.
Now as we know the strategy behind launching Play Store white UI design, let’s wrap up this article with our next question, i.e, What would be the time duration of this revamped design.
Will this Google Play Store Redesign Stay Forever?
As already hinted from the Google’s design strategy, this white UI interface would stick to our devices till the launch of Android Q. Or at least till the Dark mode theme is not rolled out on all the devices.
However, there might be a possibility that Google might come up with more redesigns in between. So, let’s wait and see what the future holds for all of us – both as an Android app developer and a user.
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