Cleaner UIs aren’t always better UIs, and Google’s latest Play Store change proves just that.
Users often rely on reviews to decide whether an app available on the Google Play Store is worth downloading or not, and Google, with its latest UI change, just took away one of the most effective review filters.
The last time the Play Store got a major UI change like this was last year.
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Earlier today, we reported on the Play Store review section’s new search bar. However, Google giveth and Google taketh away. With the latest version of the Play Store, Google has taken away the option to filter reviews by your exact device model.
The change was spotted by the folks over at Android Authority in version 50.7.24-31 of the Google Play Store.
Up until now, users have had the option to filter reviews based on relevancy. The ‘Most relevant’ filter would highlight subsections like ‘Latest version’ and ‘This device model.’
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The latter would help users gather information about what a specific app functions like on their device.
The new update replaces that consolidated menu with the ‘This device model’ option with a row of three separate chips, including Sorting, Rating, and Version. The option to filter by device model is no longer available.
This is a trade-off. With the new search bar, you now have the option to manually search for keywords. This can help you narrow down your search with keyword words like “bug,” “glitch,” or even your device’s exact name. At the same time, the removal of the dedicated filter means you can no longer sift through feedback exclusively from people using the same phone as you.
Ultimately, you get to decide whether the trade-off is worth it for you or not.
