Google’s plan to promote Android apps outside of the Play Store is starting to take shape, as a new feature called ‘Collections’ reveals a way users will be able to keep tabs on their apps from their Android home screen. At this year’s Google I/O developer conference, the company gave developers tools to re-engage users with apps they already installed on their devices. However, the company did not explain at the time what this skin would look like, focusing only on the software development kit (SDK) that developers can access to integrate with the new offering.
Google also announced that it already has more than 35 developer partners on board to test the new feature, including Spotify, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, and Shopify.
At one session of the conference, developers were shown information about the new invitation-only Engage SDK, which is largely designed to bring users back to their apps by offering content, promotions, and deals. Google said this collection will “automatically curate the best and most popular content from already installed apps” with a focus on enabling continuous journeys between apps for almost every app category.
With one tap, users will be able to launch immersive, full-screen experiences that highlight and organize the most important content from their installed apps.
Now, we’re starting to get an idea of what this surface will look like, Thanks to the APK teardown process of the Google Play Store softwareThis project was done by Android Authority Blog. Their reverse engineering experiments reveal a still-in-development feature known as “Collections.” Formerly known as “Cubes,” the feature brings a Play Store-powered widget to the Android home screen that organizes app updates into categories like Watch, Listen, Read, Games, Social, and Shop.
When users select a category, all relevant content from their apps will be displayed in that space, assuming the apps have been integrated with the SDK.
As Google explained during its I/O session, the new on-device surface will organize what’s most relevant to users and invite them back to their apps. The company also showed off some examples, showing how retail apps could invite people to continue their shopping journey by highlighting what they’ve saved to their cart, while apps like Uber Eats might invite users to place their favorite food order. Reddit could encourage people to read and vote on interesting posts, while Spotify could show favorite playlists.
Google said app developers could also use the feature to display “personalized recommendations and promotions” that would help them discover content and other deals they might have missed.
An analysis of the APK file revealed that the feature will be rolled out first in the US, before being rolled out to new markets, and will also be readily available through a shortcut from the Play Store app itself. That is, when you long press on the Play Store app, there will be a link to access Collections from the pop-up menu that appears.
Google has not yet responded to a request for comment on the Groups feature, but it previously announced that the consumer experience would launch later this year. It is worth noting that Google recently announced a new event for devices and the Android operating system, “Made by Google“, which is scheduled to be launched in August. We have heard that Google expects to officially announce this feature at that time.