Google says it will start downranking non-tablet apps in the Play Store
Google says it will start downranking non-tablet apps in the Play Store
Google's push for big screens will include a (hopefully dramatic) Play Store redesign.
I wonder why the tablet app ecosystem on Android is so poor? Could it be that the Google has spent the best part of the last decade firmly pretending that Android tablets don't exist, and people should just buy a Chromebook? Maybe that might have something to do with it?
Google:
Am I out of touch?
No, its's the devs who are wrong!
ChromeOS does benefit from android apps for tablets. Chromebooks are next gen android tablets.
Finally. This is my favorite side effect of the advent of foldables - more people seeing the big tablet landscape mode of apps, and thus the fact that so many apps are incompatible coming to light.
- Also for desktop mode (Google's DEX) for Pixel 8.
So…. Instagram?
That's a good point. We'll see if they stick to it.
I wouldn't be surprised if the unsaid part is that they're focused more on productivity apps than social apps, but I could be wrong. Also wouldn't be surprised if Instagram doesn't care about getting downranked, given its brand and market awareness somewhat transcends the need to appear in top-apps lists.
Firefox too
Google. "We gave you so many years. Not a single bite on the carrot. Here comes the stick. "
What carrot? A carrot is an incentive. Google didn't embrace the tablet format until very recently, in the grand scheme of things. They haven't offered devs any special deals that I'm aware of — say a revenue split from the play store or paying them to deliver a tablet version of their app — so they didn't incentivise devs to focus on Android tablets.
iPads have dominated the market for so long, and remain a fairly predictable and consistent device to develop for, so... why would an app developer have poured time into an app for Android tablets in years past?
I don't have an Android tablet, only iPad but I think this is a good move, do we know if Apple does the same?
Use F-droid.
Who turned up Google's nazi dial?