Google starts taking its tablet-friendly Play Store redesign seriously

Less wasted space for the big-screen user base

source:Google

Google is preparing to unveil the new Pixel 7 and 7 Pro on October 6, but further down the line we’ve got a Pixel Tablet waiting for us. Long before that even gets here, Google’s been trying to show tablets a little overdue love, like the work it’s been doing to optimize over 20 of the company’s apps for tablets. Following the Material You dynamic theming change, we’re now seeing the Play Store on Android tablets shaping up into what we were promised back at Google I/O 2022.

Up until now, the Play Store shared the same basic interface between smartphones and tablets: prominent Play Store branding, a full-width search bar, navigation drawer on the left, and horizontal scrolling carousels for days. Just rotate your phone, and you’d have the Play Store interface for tablets. But now 9to5Google reports that version 32.5.16-21 of the Play Store for Android tablets brings with it a host of changes.

The old Play Store UI for Android tablets

First off, a column of icons in a navigation rail of sorts have replaced the navigation drawer. This drastically cuts down on wasted screen real estate. The active icon gets a pill-shaped highlight, and you can see how the full-width search bar up top has been shrunken and left-aligned, creating a gap between the Play Points counter and itself. The counter, along with the notifications icon and your profile avatar remain over to the right.

The new Play Store UI

If you prefer using your tablet in portrait mode (we don’t judge), you’ll see tab-like buttons along the bottom substituting for the navigation rail, just like on smartphones. However, the narrower search bar remains left-aligned.

Apps still display in carousels in this update, but Google is still bringing us changes, inching closer towards the futuristic Play Store we glimpsed at I/O. In the interim, if you can’t wait for Google to launch its own Pixel-branded tablet, check out what you can buy now from our handpicked list of the best Android tablets today.