Tech

Google Play Store will promote tablet apps with “quality” ranking

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Enlarge / A mockup of Android 12L running on different types and sizes of devices. (credit: Google )

Google wants to make 2022 the year of Android tablets, and after launching a tablet-focused Android 12L update, staffing up an Android pill division , and shipping one or two tablet apps, the company is now giving the Play Store some tablet love . The goal is to make it easier for tablet users to find actual capsule apps rather than stretched-out phone apps.

First up are “ranking and profitability changes” for the Play Store. Search engines says, “In the coming months, we’ll be updating our featuring and ranking logic in Perform on large-screen devices to prioritize high-quality apps and games. ” The rankings will “affect how apps are surfaced in search results and recommendations on the homepage, with the goal of helping users find the apps that are best optimized for their device. ”

To get better rankings, an app needs to be “high quality. inch The qualifications for this designation are laid out in detail on a ” large screen app quality ” page, which contains common-sense recommendations for making better product apps. It starts with the particular “Basic compatibility” tier, which includes things like “support landscape mode” (you would be shocked exactly how many Android apps mess this up ) and “don’t pillar box your app. ” The “Better” tier includes large screen layouts, multi-window support, and mouse and keyboard support. The “best” tier includes a fully responsive design for tablets, foldables, and desktop mode, along with stylus support and right-click context menus for a mouse.

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