Google is making a big change to the look and function of its Play Store with the addition of its new Collections widget. This feature will show you the content of the apps already installed on your device directly from your home screen. As Google says “You’ll be able to discover apps, play games, win rewards, and find helpful content when you need it”.
Play Store Collections is rolling out to Google Play users in the US starting today and will serve as a home screen widget that allows you to experience new content. There are seven categories to choose from: Watch, Food, Listen, Shop, Read, Social, and Games.
The Watch tab will include content from platforms like YouTube, Prime Video, and Hulu subscriptions, while the Food section will help you find new recipes, restaurants, and order takeout. Listening will help you discover new songs or podcasts, and Shop will do the same for items you may have previously searched for. Clicking on an item in the new Collections page will take you to the relevant part of the app that’s already installed on your phone, without having to open the app and navigate to that specific section.
Google Play Collection
Google Play is bringing a multi-select interest filter to its Games tab. This will allow you to select multiple topics of interest when searching for new games for more personalized recommendations.
Google will allow users to choose what kind of content they see in the Collections tab and which apps are allowed to be grouped inside it. Google reportedly plans to expand Collections with health and fitness, sports, travel and events, and dating sections (via Android Faithful).
Google Play Games on PC is also getting a change and will now let you play up to four games simultaneously on your Windows PC.
Google is also updating its Play Points rewards program in the US, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, with users now eligible to win Pixel devices and Razer gaming products.
google play points
The Play Store will now offer generative AI to compare apps with reviews and FAQs summarized from information provided by developers.
Google Play app with AI-generated summaries
The Play Store is getting a dedicated Comics tab in Japan, where users will find previews of manga as well as trailers and live events.
Google Play Pass subscriptions for users in the US, UK, Australia, Japan, and South Korea are getting 80% off for the first three months.
