Google has decided to get serious once and for all and start optimizing applications for tablets with Android operating systems. These are the apps that will finally make sense of the tablet you have gathering dust and that will finally show a design adapted to users – as long as they have Android 12L or Android 13 – without making it seem like you’re using a large mobile phone.
This announcement of the redesign of the applications for tablets took place during the Google I/O 2022 event, in which the Cupertino company. Among those that will present a much better update adapted to screens are, obviously, the vast majority of Google apps : Gmail, Google Chrome, Google Maps, Google Meet, Google Photos, Google Play, Google Translate, YouTube, YouTube, Music etc All of them will display an interface with several columns to offer a better user experience to the user and thus try to make Android tablets resemble those of iOS, which had taken care of this aspect with greater care.
Beyond Google’s own applications, the company also warned that they are inviting developers of other external apps to adapt their designs , and some have begun to respond to the call. Facebook, TikTok, Zoom or Canva are some of the applications that have already started their redesigns optimized for tablets.
WHAT’S NEW IN THE PLAY STORE
To help the user locate the best apps, Google is also working on introducing changes in the Play Store so that the applications that do adapt to the tablet format are more easily visible to the user and find them as prominent options to download. One of the main novelties of the Play Store will be the possibility for users to leave specific reviews for the tablet version of each app , separate from its mobile version.
The new importance that Google has given to tablets is explained as a reaction to the greater demand for large screens that the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it due to the need to work and study from home. The rise of big screens has also logically led to an increase in tablet sales , rising from 144 million in 2019 to 168 million units sold in 2021, according to International Data Corporation .
Users with an Android 12L operating system already find an interface that fits devices with large screens. This allows information to be separated into columns in the notification menu and includes a taskbar at the bottom of the screen that allows you to quickly switch between applications. These are also better adapted to be able to occupy the screen space more efficiently.
With the arrival of Android 13, new features will be available, as well as faster and easier switching between profiles, which will allow the user to easily share the tablet . According to Scott Blanksteen, director of Google, he indicated at the event that most devices will be incorporated with Android 12L this year, while Android 13 will have a greater implementation in 2023 .
FIRST TABLET UNDER THE PIXEL LABEL
Google I/ O 2022 also served as the ideal platform to announce the launch of the first tablet under the Pixel label. Of course, no further details have been offered about its specifications, price or a possible launch date . The only confirmed thing is that the user of tablets with Android operating systems will now have more reasons to rescue them from abandonment.