Google appears to be testing a new interface feature aimed at helping users determine whether or not the application they are currently looking at is ranked in its respective category. That’s thanks to the addition of a clickable new page section which appears for some users when an application they are viewing is ranked within any of the Play Store’s given categories. For example, since Nintendo’s Super Mario Run is currently ranked as the “Top Free Action” title, the game’s page displays that information just below the Install button in the Google Play Store.
The newly included information is not just a quick way to see whether an app is ranked or how highly it is rated either. After all, it could be said that any app which has managed to become ranked among the hundreds of millions of apps available should be worth a look – if it falls into a category of application users are looking for. Google appears to take that a step further for more discerning users. That’s because clicking on the new app ranking on a ranked app’s dedicated page redirects the user to the chart page for that respective category, bringing more usability to that section of the Play Store. Continuing with the example provided above, namely Super Mario Run, clicking the title text “Top Free Action” takes the user to the Play Store’s Top Chart for the free action games category. That will allow users to see what other popular titles exist in the category. For other categories, such as communications-based apps, the new addition to the UI should help users who are mostly satisfied with their current app but want to find one that has that extra feature or two they’ve been looking for or that runs just a bit more smoothly.
As is always the case with test features, not everybody will get a chance to use this one before it becomes an official part of the Google Play Store. It will likely be rolled out more widely to Android users over time. Although this particular addition to the interface is not the biggest one to hit the Play Store, to date, it should be endlessly useful to anybody who spends any amount of time looking for the best Android apps available.
