New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…
Original story (published on June 18, 2021) follows:
The Android ecosystem has evolved to another level over the time and Google is still working hard to make it even better.
However, it seems that the tech giant might be at a point where it is unable to decide what qualifies for good user experience or what does not.
The recent Google Play Store UI overhauls are testament to that as they have been getting mixed reactions from users.
To recall, Google changed the Play Store user interface earlier this year by getting rid of the hamburger menu in the top left. The items in that menu were shifted to the account switcher in the top right corner.
While this might have been done for ease of access, the UI change was not very well received as people had gotten used to the hamburger menu.
Now, the tech giant is now rolling out the redesigned Google Play Store UI update widely.
There is a Manage apps & device section in the account switcher in the top left corner which further has the Overview and Manage sections.
It is unclear what pushed Google to make this change but some users are not liking it one bit. This is because the new UI redesign has increased the number of steps to update apps.
Users have to go through a lot of sections to finally reach the page which shows the Update all option where they can either update all apps or select the ones they want to update.
This is particularly affecting those who have not enabled the Auto-update apps setting in the Play Store.
On the other hand, some users are even arguing that using the My apps shortcut by long-pressing the Play Store icon reduces the number of steps.
Since the said UI redesign appears to be garnering mixed reactions, Google should perhaps take the feedback into consideration before making any further changes.
That said, do you find the redesigned Google Play Store UI simpler or complicated? Feel free to let us know your opinion either by dropping a comment or by casting a vote on the Twitter poll given below.
As always, we will be back with the poll results by next week.
Update 1 (June 25)
IST 07:07 pm: The results are out and it seems 76.2% users want the old hamburger menu back whereas 14.3% users feel the new UI design is easier for managing apps and updates. Also, 9.5% users do not care about the new or old Play Store UI.
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