C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is testing new features in the Play Store, including support for third-party app stores.
- Along with this, we see a new option called Play Labs being tested here.
- We’ve also seen the two-row search bar being prepared for a rollout.
Earlier this week, Google rolled out a massive Play Store update with an improved search experience and the ability to try out widgets while an app was being installed. But in addition to these changes, a few more could be in line, as we’ve spotted them being tested in the latest version of the Play Store.
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Google now appears to be testing a few more changes in the Play Store. These include a new option called Play Labs, which presumably lets users try out new features, just like Labs across other Google products, including Search.
In addition to Play Labs, we’ve also discovered an option for third-party app stores. This appears to be a consequence of the now-withdrawn settlement between Google and Epic Games, which brings the previous antitrust judgment against Google from 2024 back into force.
Last week, when Google shared the update, it also confirmed the option to install new app stores directly from the Play Store is also coming.
Notably, the feature is currently being tested and not available widely. We were able to activate the option by tinkering with the latest version of the Play Store. However, both the Play Labs and third-party app store options don’t work for us at the moment, despite appearing in the overflow menu after tweaking the app.
What does work for us is the new Search bar, which Google announced was getting refreshed to accommodate longer, natural language queries. This is facilitated by a new two-row search bar that Google said comes with the new update.
Along with that, we also see a prompt for “Ask Store.” Since the upgraded search bar has already been promised, we expect the wider release to happen gradually in the coming weeks.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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