What Changed Across Google Play This September

Google continued to roll out updates across the Play ecosystem throughout September, with several changes focused on how apps are discovered, compared, and engaged with across the store.

While some of the updates are relatively small on their own, together they show Google continuing to build more discovery and engagement opportunities throughout the Play experience. From highlighting features of similar apps to making ratings and reviews easier to access, these changes give developers and marketers a few new areas to watch.

Similar Apps Now Show More Information

Google is adding more context to the Similar Apps section of the Play Store. With Play Store version 53.1, users may now see a short description highlighting a key feature of a similar app.

It is a small change, but an interesting one for app discovery. Similar Apps already puts competing products next to each other. Now, Google can also call attention to a specific feature that may give someone a reason to check out another app.

This makes it worth watching how Google describes apps in these placements and which features it chooses to highlight.

More Ways to Explore Apps on Google Play

Google also updated Play Store navigation to make it easier to explore different interests from the home page.

Along with that, category-specific Collections widgets are becoming available. These widgets can bring app content tied to specific categories into another part of the Android experience.

Both updates give Google more places to recommend apps and content based on interests, rather than relying only on someone searching for a specific app or keyword.

Ratings and Reviews Have a New Home

Another September update brings a Contribution Hub to the “You” tab in Google Play. This gives users one place to submit ratings and reviews and see their previous contributions.

For developers, this is worth keeping an eye on. Google is making the review process easier to find and giving ratings and reviews a more dedicated place within the Play Store.

That could make leaving feedback a more regular part of the Play experience, especially for users who already review apps frequently.

A Small Update for Paid Apps and Games

Google also made a change to pre-registration for paid titles. After a pre-registered paid app or game is released, users can now add it to their wishlist.

This gives interested users another option if they are not ready to purchase right away. For paid games and apps using pre-registration, it creates another touchpoint between the initial launch and an eventual purchase.

Other September Updates

There were a few other developer-facing changes this month as well. Google made changes to the Wear OS search results page and rolled out new Play services features across Maps, device connectivity, location and context, wallets, and payments.

WebView version 155 also brought new capabilities for developers working with web content inside Android apps.

These updates are more technical, but they are part of a larger set of changes Google continues to make across Android and the Play ecosystem.

What to Watch Going Forward

The Similar Apps update may be one of the more interesting changes from September. Showing a key feature alongside a competing app gives users more information before they even visit that app’s store listing.

At the same time, Google is adding more places for apps to be discovered, from new navigation options to Collections widgets. These may seem like relatively small changes, but they can affect where and how apps show up across Google Play.

For help staying ahead of changes across Google Play and improving app growth, contact us today.