If you’re an app developer looking to focus on Android, the Google Play Store will be your primary focus. And it’s no surprise – after all, developers have earned over $80 billion from the Play Store, and it’s the biggest app market in the world. While the Apple App Store may be more lucrative, the Google Play Store presents itself as a lower entry bar and a wider audience, two things that greatly benefit a beginner app developer. However, due to the large number of apps on the platform, discovering a cool new app is not an easy task for users, and by extension, getting your app noticed by users is also difficult. However, it looks like Google wants to fix this one way or another, as the Play Store is currently testing search filters to help supplement the Play Store’s search capabilities.
As spotted by 9to5Google, the Google Play Store is testing search filters that can narrow results. Currently, generic search terms may display a few suggestion bullet points that may narrow results based on app functionality. The new tests will extend the filtering capabilities, allowing refinement by rating (either 4.0+ or 4.5+), by the existence of Google’s “Editor’s Choice” badge, and by “New”. These three new filters can be applied at the same time.
These new filters can really help a user narrow down the apps they want to try. For example, all of the top rated options for a search term can be filtered out, so you can experiment with the options to see what works best for you. Likewise, only popping up new apps will make it easier for new publishers to reach an audience and get feedback from them to improve their own app. Google Play search filters are not yet widely available and are being rolled out via a server-side update. They should therefore arrive automatically on your phone in the next few days.
The Play Store has received several changes that make it more effective as an app store for the masses. The store recently received a dark theme toggle for most Android versions. It has also started showing download counts and app size in search results, and it also recently introduced a “Teacher Approved” section for apps and content approved as kid-friendly.
Thanks to XDA Senior Member RKBD for the screenshots!
Source: 9to5Google
