Google would change the way its Play Store calculates and displays app ratings, making app ratings more relevant to the developer market and more beneficial to users. It is reported that compared to the fixed rating of the application, the Google App Store will give the application multiple ratings according to different markets and different devices used by the user. This means that the screen size of the device used by the user to browse the Google App Store is different, and the same ratings displayed by apps are also different.
This change may be beneficial. First of all, not all applications provide the same functions in all markets. An application developer certainly does not want the rating of his application to be affected because the payment function cannot be activated in a particular market. Another more important reason is that some applications are only suitable for tablets or foldable devices with larger screens, while some applications will have problems when running on Android devices other than mobile phones.
Therefore, the application-specific ratings given for different devices mean that when users download an application on a tablet computer, they will know in advance that its performance is not as good as that of a mobile phone. Google plans to launch application-specific ratings for different markets in November this year and launch different ratings for different types of devices such as tablets, foldable devices, Chrome OS, Wear OS, or Android Auto in 2022.
If Google’s new method of calculating ratings will change the ratings of existing applications, the company will notify developers in advance. Google said, Before the Google App Store rating method is adjusted, we will automatically analyze the app’s rating changes at least 10 weeks in advance. If your app’s rating is adjusted to more than 0.2 stars, then we will promptly notify you. This way, As a result, you have plenty of time to make changes to the application.
Considering that foldable devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Z Flip 3 are becoming more and more popular, Google’s adjustments should be helpful to both users and developers. After all, not all applications can be adapted to foldable phones. Without adjustments, users of these devices are likely to give bad reviews due to poor user experience.
