Saturday, March 31, 2018

[Updated] Google Play Store is showing apps rank and available comparable apps to some users.


Today I noticed a few changes in app listings in the Play Store on my OnePlus 5T, changes that are not available yet on my other devices and my wife's Samsung S7 Edge. As can be seen in the screenshot above, the details for the Facebook Messenger is now showing more information below the 'Uninstall' and 'Update' buttons.

Right underneath the buttons, the store is listing comparable apps available, which in this case is Facebook Messenger Lite. In addition, the app size is also displayed and obviously, tapping on that portion of the screen takes you to the download page of the 'comparable' app.

The Play Store is also showing the app ranking. While this may sound minor, it is very useful if you're not sure how popular the app is and this is in addition to the number of downloads to help you decide on whether to download or purchase the app.

Again, these changes do not yet appear on all my devices, so just be patient as it seems to be a server-side change that Google is randomly pushing to devices out there.

Update: After taking another look at this, it appears Google is actually recommending lite and Go apps to users so they know these apps exist. These apps are great for low-end  Android devices or for users living in areas with a poor internet connection.

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