Android tablets have always struggled against Apple’s iPad line-up, and somehow it never escaped being left behind. But it looks like Google will soon surpass one of the biggest reasons for this.
The company announced on its Android Developers Blog that when viewing the app store on a large-screen device such as a tablet or foldable phone, apps and games that are optimized for large screens will be featured. It has also been announced that these changes will be activated in the “coming months”.
The change won’t be limited to apps that are only shown or featured in search results. Google is also expected to issue warnings about apps that don’t meet the basic widescreen requirements. This way you will know you can get a low quality experience. In addition, users will see ratings and reviews from users of the same device type (phones, tablets and foldables, Chrome OS, Wear OS or Android Auto).
Presumably, these changes will also encourage developers to make their apps more tablet-friendly. This is very important as there are so many high-quality iPad apps available. But Android developers often also offer phone apps on larger devices, which inevitably doesn’t provide a good experience.
Google states that there are currently more than 250 million active Android tablets, foldables, and Chrome OS devices. Also, as foldable phones start to roll out, demand for big-screen devices (and the apps that come with them) is likely to continue to rise. Therefore, this step is very important for Android to keep up with iPadOS.
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