Newsletter
A new version of the Google Play Store is beginning to rollout around the world. This brings the Play Store up to version 7.1, and there’s a few rather subtle changes included in this update. For one, the launcher icon is now a bit more rounded. This is so that it will better match the icons found on the Pixel Launcher that is coming with the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. So that’s not a huge surprise, and for those that use icon packs, you won’t even notice.
Perhaps the bigger feature here is the fact that the Play Store has added in some launcher shortcuts, again for the Pixel Launcher. It’s a rather simple shortcut, allowing you to simply jump into the apps that you have downloaded on your account. A quick and easy way to see what updates are available as well. There’s also support for 4K and UHD content on the Play Store now. Basically what this means is that you’ll be able to rent and/or buy movies (and TV shows) from the Google Play Store that will be in 4K. Remember that Google did announce the Chromecast Ultra last week, which has the ability to stream 4K content onto your TV. There’s also a new promotion or gift icon available in this update. Other than that, there’s not much new in this update to the Google Play Store. As the version number shows, this is just a small update to the Google Play Store as expected.
The update to Google Play, as is the case with most updates, is a slow staged rollout. Which means you may or may not have the update on your device(s) already. If you don’t, you can simply sideload the APK that we have listed below. It’s pretty simple to do. Just download the APK below and then open it up. It’ll install over the existing Play Store installation. Just be sure that “Unknown Sources” is checked in the settings, otherwise you’ll run into a few issues. This is likely one of the last updates for the Play Store this year, and of course there will be big things coming next year.
Download: Google Play v7.1