Google Play Store’s first ‘Labs’ feature lets you ‘expand everything’

We recently spotted Google working on a new “Play Labs” feature in the Play Store. While the feature wasn’t working then, it has now started to show up for some users, bringing the first experimental Play Store feature in tow.

According to screenshots shared by Telegram user @sameera_s_w, at least some users are now seeing an experimental Play Store feature: “Expand everything.” If enabled, it automatically expands search results in the Play Store.

Normally, Play Store search results show a downward arrow next to app names. Tapping this arrow expands the search result and displays additional information about the app. However, with the experimental “Expand everything” feature enabled, these results are expanded by default. Instead of using the arrow icon to expand search results, users can now use it to collapse them. Here’s the experimental feature in action:

Useful as this can be, it also takes up more screen real estate for each search result. That means you end up seeing fewer results at a glance. However, since this is an experimental feature, you can turn it on or off easily. Just tap your profile picture in the Play Store and head over to the “Play Labs” option to enable or disable the expanded search results.

The experimental feature has started rolling out to some users, but it doesn’t seem to be widely available yet. It’s likely another one of Google’s phased rollouts. We’re hoping Google starts rolling it out widely soon.