If you’re an Android tablet user constantly worried that the new apps you’re looking to download will not take full advantage of all your screen real estate, your concerns appear to have been (indirectly) addressed by Google at last.
That’s because there’s now a way to filter Play Store ratings by the type of device you own so that you can be prepared beforehand for bugs and issues specific to tablets, smartwatches, Chromebooks, and even smart TVs. Or, on a more positive note, ensure that an app is optimized and capable of running smoothly on your tablet, smartwatch, Chromebook, or smart TV.
Of course, that was always possible by manually browsing through a long list of reviews for those relevant to your device type, but now Google will perform that task automatically to deliver just the insight you need.
You won’t have to change any settings or tick any special boxes yourselves to actually take advantage of this new Play Store feature, which was originally announced more than a year ago and estimated to roll out to the public “early in 2022.”
Obviously, that hasn’t happened, but we’re pretty sure you’ll be glad to see a message informing you that app user ratings are now “based on recent reviews from people in your region who use the same type of device that you use” the next time you open Google Play.
The regional filtering, in case you’re wondering, only became a thing last year, further highlighting Google‘s stronger and stronger efforts to make the Play Store a better, more useful, and even a safer place than ever before.
There’s definitely a security angle to this latest improvement too, as a division of user reviews by device type could well make it easier to detect certain malicious apps and harder for bad actors to bombard the Play Store with fake ratings without Google noticing said behavior.
In short, we’re dealing with a small change likely to make everyone’s life easier on multiple levels and in a pretty big way.
