Tablet-specific apps have long been a hot topic in the world of Android. It used to be that the majority of tablet apps were simply phone apps resized for a larger display, which can often lead to a less-than-stellar user experience. Google has been working quite a bit lately to improve the Android tablet app situation, and earlier this year the company added a "Designed for tablets" section to the Google Play Store that was meant to highlight software that followed its tablet design guidelines. Now the company is planning to make another big change in the hopes that it'll push even more developers to create tablet-optimized apps.
Google announced today on the official Android Developers Blog that on Nov. 21, the aforementioned "Designed for tablets" apps section will be the default view for users browsing Google Play top app lists on their tablet. Users will still be able to view and install apps that don't meet the "Designed for tablets" guidelines, but those apps will be marked as "Designed for phones."
As part of today's news, Google revealed that more than 70 million Android tablets have been activated to date and that more than half of all tablets sold today are running its mobile OS. Taking those tidbits into consideration, it's no surprise to see Google continue to push developers to create attractive, tablet-friendly apps for Android.
In addition to its "Designed for tablets" section in the Play Store, Google has also put together a list of tablet optimization tips and a tablet quality checklist to help developers create better big-screen Android apps. With the tablet-focused changes that Google Play will soon undergo, it might be a good idea for Android devs to check out those resources and make sure that their apps are up to snuff.
