Google is reportedly working on a new UI for the Play Store
Looking to differentiate paid apps from free ones, Google is working on a change to the Android app storefront.
Google working on UI change for the Play Store | Image by PhoneArena
Google is testing a new UI for the Play Store and the change is limited to paid apps. Why the Alphabet unit would do this is fairly obvious; a new UI will make paid games stand out compared to free games. Android Authority came across the new look while digging into version 53 of the Android app storefront.
The new design is meant to differentiate free apps from paid ones
Currently, both free and paid apps in the Play Store have the same UI. This forces you to do some reading to find out exactly what kind of app you are about to install on your Android device. At the top of the new listing is a larger, more immersive image from the game. In addition, the background of the page has been changed from white to black.
The new immersive image blends better with your phone's status bar
The new look actually works better with your phone's status bar, which is the bar at the top of the display showing battery life, signal strength, the Wi-Fi icon (if enabled), the time and the name of your wireless provider. In the current version of the listing for a paid app (which, if you remember, looks just like the listing for a free app), the status bar doesn't blend so nicely and, in fact, the effect is jarring.
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Google needs to add more information to the new listing
The new look for a paid app in the Play Store does a great job of blending the top of the more immersive image of the paid app with the phone's status bar. But the new look for paid listings in the Play Store is not without some flaws. For example, it fails to show the number of installs for the app and also doesn't show the app's file size. However, let's give Google some credit here and assume that it is still working on the UI for the paid app listings and will include that information in the final version.
Current image on the left, new image on the right. | Image by Android Authority
While we don't know when or even if Google plans on releasing the new UI, changes could be made to the final version of a paid Play Store listing. In other words, Google could still be working on the final design. It might do a good job differentiating a free app from a paid one, but I'm not sure the new look will lead Android users to purchase more paid apps.
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