Struggling to find optimized Android apps on Chromebooks? Android 12L, announced a few months ago, will help. But just adding better support for mobile apps on larger screens isn’t enough. You still have to find them. Google has announced changes that will make finding these optimized apps easier.
The company says this will happen in three ways. And all of them will polish Google Play.
The first is a change in how Google will categorize Android apps for Chromebooks and tablets.
Essentially, if the software meets Google’s optimization standards for large screens, it will show up higher on the Play homepage and in app searches:
In the coming months, we’ll be updating our presentation and ranking logic in Play on large-screen devices to prioritize high-quality apps and games based on these app quality guidelines. This will affect how apps are presented in search results and recommendations on the homepage, with the aim of helping users find apps that are best optimized for their device.
While this is a good start and Chromebook users are happy with it, the second approach may have more impact. And it could help more Android developers improve their apps on bigger screens.
When you install an unoptimized Android app on a Chromebook, for example, the Play Store will communicate a potentially poor experience.
And it effectively challenges the developer, letting you know that they haven’t put the time and effort into optimizing their software for Chromebooks and tablets. I wouldn’t want this post associated with me if I was an Android developer.
Finally, Google will give developers a new tool to review their app ratings by device, including Chromebooks.
This data is not exclusive to developers, however.
When viewing Android apps on Chromebooks in the Play Store, you’ll see Chromebook-specific notes. It could also encourage developers to optimize their Android apps for Chromebooks and tablets using Android 12L’s tools.
I still have an interesting open question on this.
When will Android 12L support actually come to Chromebooks?
Most devices are still running Android 9, although a few have been upgraded to support Android 11. no timeline for when we’ll see optimized Android apps on Chromebooks.
