Google’s Leaked Play Store Redesign Foregrounds Media And Summaries

Google has a new look for all of Android coming with Android L, the final public release of which should arrive sometime this fall. The latest version sports something called ‘Material Design,’ a new set of principles for user interface creation that’s meant to make software better for touchscreens and high density displays. The Play Store wasn’t updated in the initial launch build of the Android L beta, but leaked screenshots from Android Police (via 9to5Google) suggest we’ll see Google’s app and media store get a big visual update.

The redesign puts a strong emphasis on media, including screenshots, banners and video trailers, according to the leaks. Tablet pages for movies and apps look pretty much like some early preview designs revealed at Google I/O this year during a session specifically addressing Material Design in Google Play. These put the app or media information and buy links above a full bleed visual backdrop that can be either a solid color, a cover image or a video trailer depending on the type of content featured.

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On the smartphone, the interface doesn’t have quite the overbearing focus on visuals, though it does put a banner graphic or trailer first, followed by the means to buy or rent the content, and a simple, one-sentence summary that should give shoppers an easy way to figure out what the thing they’re looking at is all about without having to scroll or dive in any deeper. It’s a big functional upgrade over the current design, which can bury a description, requiring quite a few steps before you get to any kind of actual functional information.

The new look could go live either before or after the full launch of Google’s Android L, and of course these designs could be non-final, so further changes might be in line. The overall effect is an interface that looks more effective in terms of conveying necessary info