Google says it will start downranking non-tablet apps in the Play Store
Enlarge / The Play Store on tablets is mostly just two big thumbnails. (credit: Google)
Following the release of the Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold, Google wants developers to take big-screen apps more seriously. Asking nicely rarely works, so Google is changing the Play Store ranking algorithms to increase the visibility of apps that better support large screens.
Google's blog post says:
Apps and games that adhere to our large screen app quality guidelines will now be ranked higher in search and Apps and Games Home. This helps users find apps that resize well, aren't letterboxed, and support both portrait and landscape orientations. Editors’ Choice and other curated collections and articles will also consider these criteria going forward, creating new featuring opportunities for optimized apps.
The large screen app guidelines have various tiers, but they recommend keyboard, mouse, and stylus support, a two-pane tablet layout, drag-and-drop support, and foldable display awareness. The post also reiterates some improvements that Google has already rolled out, like showing tablet screenshots to tablet users and downranking apps that crash a lot.