Google Play Adds Download Counts, Material Design Switcher, And Dark Mode

Google Play Store which is located at the center of the ecosystem, is the store for the Android economy to happen.

As it's central to Android, positive changes to the store is always a good idea. And here, Google released a few updates to the Play Store which should make experience better.

First, is Google in adding download counts.

Previously, searching for an app on Google Play Store will return the name of the developer, rating and the price of apps. This is changing with an update, as Google adds download counts and app size, as well.

With the Play Store having almost 3 million apps, it can be daunting and confusing for users in cases like if they want to look up for a budget app but seeing Google Play Store return with more options than needed.

This update maybe small, but it's handy as it allows users to know more about apps of their interest, without having to go to the app's page and scrolling down.

The second update, in Google in introducing Material Design to its Play Store account switcher.

It's usually a breeze to switch accounts if users have more than one Google account registered on their phones. But with the Material Design, things get even easier because users can just simply tap on their avatar on the right side of the search bar, to open all their Google accounts that are signed into their phone.

This new addition to the top part of the screen pushes voice search to the left, and makes the microphone hidden when users first open the app to make way for the Google Play animation.

Meanwhile, the navigation drawer is also shortened because of the absence of the switcher.

The Google Play Material Theme account switcher was first tested in late 2019, spotted on Google's A/B tests in versions 19.3 and 19.4 of Google Play Store.

It should be noted that the account switcher on other apps like Google Maps and Google Home allow users to access the app's settings.

And the third update, is Google Play Store in introducing Dark Mode.

What it does, is inverting the usual dark text on a white background to white text on a white background, but keeping the Play Store signature green accent colors. This prevents users from straining their eyes and preserving more of their device's battery.

Android 10 have enjoyed the benefits of Dark Mode in Google Play for several months. But with this update, Google has finally brought the alternative color mode to devices on lower Android versions, meaning that all Android devices should benefit the change.

It should be noted though, that while Google apps can adapt automatically to system-wide dark mode in some cases, other devices may need to have their dark mode toggled manually.

To do this, users need to go the settings menu to access the Theme section. From there, they can toggle the Light and Dark theme, or keep the system default one on.