What App Store is for iOS devices, Google Play Store is for Android devices. And in process of tweaking the Play Store, Google has taken down the Hamburger menu in the latest UI test.
Notably, the Play Store is the most important app on any Android smartphone. Well, it is the official source of apps and games that we can install on our Android devices.
Which is the reason Google tests out new UI and other features for the Google Play Store. We have seen Google changing the UI of the Play Store now and then, to keep it up to date with time.
For the unaware, the Google Play Store received new search filters this year, then we got the experimental My Apps screen redesign. However, the latest UI test is getting rid of the famous hamburger menu.
The hamburger menu or the 3-line icon on any app is the place where you can dig deep into the settings and almost manage the entire application.
But now, with the hamburger menu gone from the latest UI test, Google is surely thinking of some change with the Google Play Store.
One burning question that would raise in your mind is that if the hamburger menu is removed, then how would you access the settings and other options of the Play Store.
Tapping the avatar on the upper-right corner of the Play Store would open a floating window
The answer is that Google will be housing all the features that were present under the hamburger menu, inside the avatar icon. Basically, tap on the avatar would open a floating window.
This floating window will contain all the options like Manage apps & devices, Library, Settings, Play Pass, Play Protect, etc. which you would see under the hamburger menu.
We are not sure about Google’s decision of taking down the hamburger menu, because it was not coming in the way of any important feature.
In fact, it is the menu that would give us easy access to all the other important functions and tweaks of the entire Play Store. There is one good reason pointed out by Android Police.
As per AP, since smartphone screens are growing in size, most of the menu options are moved to the bottom of the app’s interface. Besides, the hamburger menu also does not really fit well with the full gesture navigation.
As of now, Google has not taken any confirmed decision of getting rid of the Play Store hamburger menu. It is just a part of the UI testing.
But users should be ready to let go of the Play Store hamburger menu. Apparently, the Play Store is not the first Google app to get rid of the hamburger menu.
