Google was reported last month to have started testing changes that will be coming to the user interface of the Google Play Store. It seems that a few users are now seeing the planned changes in advance of a wider rollout, seemingly as an expansion of the testing being done by Google.
The changes coming to the Google Play Store do make up a major overhaul, but they are significant enough that users will see the difference.
Google Play Store UI Changes
The first thing that users will notice in the new Google Play Store UI is the changes that will be applied to the main page. The green color used on the main screen will be darker compared to the shade used in the past, bringing it in line with the green color seen in Google Hangouts.
In addition, the app carousel, which used to be in the header with the search bar, has been transferred below the search bar. The apps that are featured have also been given a card-style layout, compared to the banner image that was used in the past.
Upon checking out an app in the revamped Google Play Store, users will also notice an install button that looks different. The button is no longer a small one on the right side of the app's page but rather a long one that goes across the page, located below the name of the app and above the app's rating and number of downloads. The details section of apps also changed, along with the interface for providing comments to an app.
Google Play Store Revamp Release
The new UI for the Google Play Store is said to be appearing for some users in India. It is not clear if Android users in other countries are also seeing the changes, with the big question of when the global rollout still not being answered by Google.
With the new UI now appearing in the wild, however, it is probably safe to assume that the official release is coming sooner than later, so Android users who are looking forward to a Google Play Store that is easier on the eyes will not have to wait long.
Google has also recently rolled out new tools to the Google Play Store to keep its content clean and trustworthy. The tools are designed to crack down on the illicit tricks that developers use to bump up the rank of the apps that they create in the Google Play Store charts, including fake reviews and incentivized ratings, among others.
