Google is playing with their search results again, this time introducing a way to install apps for Android directly from Google Play just by doing a Google Search for them.
First pointed out by Android Police based on a tip, the results are fairly clear for everyone to see, search for an app which is in Google Play – paid or unpaid and you should get an install button at the top of the results. For paid apps, clicking the ‘install’ or the button with the price will drop you into
Google Play to complete your purchase. The pricing also seems to be in US Dollars, even when searching in Australia.
Android Police point out that some users will actually be able to install the app directly from the search results without going into Google Play, but for the majority of users, you’ll have to go to Google Play to complete the install process.
It’s time to note, this doesn’t work for everything (try searching for Ausdroid app or Ausdroid Android app, it’s a no-go), but does work fairly reliably. If the app has a number of common names, the Google Search seems to just give the colourful app search results card that Google introduced several months ago.
The function appears to be live right now for everyone so next time you’re searching an app in Google, don’t be surprised to see this pop up.
