Google has released a new update for the Play Store, which people who spend a lot of time reading reviews before downloading an app or game will find useful: a dedicated search bar to let you search through user comments.
To use the search feature, you first need to go to an app"s listing, scroll down to the "Ratings and reviews" section, and tap "See all reviews". From there, you can search for specific terms to see what users think of the app.
The folks at Android Authority noticed the search has some limitations. There is no semantic search, so it will not work unless you type the exact word you are looking for. It also does not seem to function if you only search for one word.
The update started rolling out with v50.7 of the Play Store. If it"s not showing for you, you can try forcing an update. Just tap your profile picture on the store"s homepage, then go to Settings, tap "About", and finally tap "Update Play Store" to get the latest version available for your device.
Ever since the big Material You launch with Android 12, Google has slowly been adding updates to improve the overall Play Store experience. The app adopted "Monet" dynamic theming, where the stark white interface was softened with colors from your phone"s wallpaper.
The bottom navigation bar traded standard icons for pill-shaped indicators to show which tab was active. Perhaps most notably, Google killed the left-side slide-out menu, leading to account and library settings being moved into a pop-up menu that you access by tapping your profile picture in the top right corner.
More recently, Google is now allowing developers to use different ways to collect money because of the famous legal settlement with Epic Games regarding anti-competitive practices. This change lets developers implement third-party billing systems so that when you go to buy an in-game item or a subscription, you might see direct payment options (e.g., via credit card or PayPal) rather than just through Google Play.
Before this policy update, any digital purchase made in an app from the Play Store had to go through Google Play"s billing system, which let the company take its own cut (often 30%).