Google Warns Developers To Optimize Apps For Tablets Or Get Downranked In Play Store

Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Google is finally giving Android tablets the push they need – apps optimized for large screens. Google says it will start downranking applications and games that are not optimized for large screens.

What Happened: Google has updated its Play Store guidelines and ranking algorithms to push apps and games optimized for large screens. Essentially, apps and games that need to be optimized will be downranked in the Play Store, along with apps with high crash rates.

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While Google has so far encouraged developers to optimize their apps and games for large screens for a better Android experience on tablets, this is the first time it is actively pushing for it and enforcing rules so developers take it more seriously.

"Apps and games that adhere to our large screen app quality guidelines will now be ranked higher in search and Apps and Games Home," Google said in its blog post.

Earlier, Google had implemented warning labels to encourage developers to optimize their apps and games on a per-device basis.

"Last year, we also announced app listing warnings and reduced visibility for apps and games that do not meet Play's per-device technical quality bar," Google said.

Evidently, those labels have proved inadequate, leading to Google updating its ranking algorithms, which will directly impact the number of downloads.

Motivated By Pixel Tablet And Foldable Phones Adoption

Google's renewed push for apps and games optimized for large screens likely stems from the fact that the company itself is taking tablets and large-screen devices seriously.

While Google has launched multiple Android tablets under the Nexus brand, the new Pixel Tablet is its most serious attempt till now. It has also jumped into the foldable phones segment with the Pixel Fold – although it is not off to a good start, it shows that Google is taking this segment seriously.

On its end, Google has updated the Play Store for Android tablets with a two-pane layout. The new interface is rolling out widely now, and although it is a work in progress, it is a notable improvement over the previous design.

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