Google is really beginning to make an effort with regards to addressing a perceived lack of tablet ready apps in Google Play. This began last year when Google introduced their Tablet App Quality Checklist for developers and continued just last week when they introduced new Tablet App Guidelines and Screenshots for the Play Store which allowed developers to present to customers different screenshots for their apps based on the device accessing the Play Store.
Today, Google has introduced a new page to the Developer console which automatically scans your app to tell you how your app is doing when compared against the criteria outlined in the Tablet App quality checklist. When uploading new apps to the Play Store, developers will be able to see the comparison under the Optimization Tips header as part of the upload process. This new section will make it easier for developers to see what needs to be done in order to give a better overall tablet experience to users.
A better tablet experience for Android tablets is something we can all appreciate and look forward to. With Google IO just around the corner and two recent tablet focused updates to the Developer console occurring in relatively quick succession, one can’t help wondering if there is something afoot with regards to tablets coming up at the May event, we don’t have long to wait to see exactly what Google has up their sleeve for IO.
This will be good for future releases of Android tablets, it does seem to be lacking a fair bit compared to iOS which has an admittedly fantastic tablet app store.