Earlier last week on July 26, the leader of the Google Play Apps Business Development Team Sarah Karam published a post on the Android Developers Forum unveiling the Play Store’s new app categories.
The decision to give an overhaul to Google’s main mobile platform was fueled by the constant necessity for change and improvement in search and advertisement of third-party applications. While technology brings advances in hardware and software, it does so as well in the field of mobile applications.
The tech giant spokeswoman has presented the list of new categories, as well as announced the renaming of some of the existing ones. The list is led by Art & Design, Auto & Vehicles, “Beauty”, and “Dating.”
Among the announced categories that are up for a name revamp are “Transportation” and “Media & Video”, which will change to “Maps & Navigation” and “Video Players & Editors” respectively.
Karam further claimed that the makeover in Google Play Store application categories was intended to be “more comprehensive and relevant to what users are looking for today”.
Moreover, the change in classification also meant a change for app developers, as the San Francisco-based company promptly allowed them to re-categorize their creations if they fit better under the newly introduced categories.
More categories do not mean more simple navigation
The devil might be in the details of Google’s latest efforts to enhance user experience in the mobile-based Play Store. With the addition of the new eight categories and assuming that there are no more changes in sight, the new version of the Play Store would include 36 application categories in total.
The updated full list might end up looking something like this:
• Android Wear
• Art & Design (new)
• Auto & Vehicles (new)
• Beauty (new)
• Books & Reference
• Business
• Comics
• Communication
• Dating (new)
• Education
• Entertainment
• Events (new)
• Family
• Finance
• Food & Drink (new)
• Games
• Google Cast
• Health & Fitness
• House & Home (new)
• Libraries & Demo
• Lifestyle
•Maps & Navigation (formerly Transportation)
• Medical
• Music & Audio
• News & Magazines
• Parenting (new)
• Personalization
• Photography
• Productivity
• Social
• Sports
• Tools
• Travel & Local
• Video Players & Editors (formerly Media & Video)
• Weather
While some may argue that specific classification makes a more comprehensive search experience, others could be overwhelmed by the extensive list of applications categories.
Over 1 billion users currently own Android devices and they will get the new Google Play Store interface within the next two months.
Source: Android Developers Blog