Google's Mobile Search Makeover

Google has been working for some time now to improve the search results for apps on mobile. Until recently, when users performed a search, apps were listed one by one on its own line followed by a link to see “more” apps of the same kind.

Now, users on Android performing Google searches outside of the app store will now see a new grid like layout with a colourful list of popular suggestions from Google Play at the top of your results. The colour of the tiles are similar to the grid like pattern of the app store’s look and feel.

The grid like search results seem only to be triggered if you search for a “keyword” followed by “apps”. The keyword can be a descriptive word like “hotels” or “fun” to trigger the new display. The colourful tiles mostly match up to the colours found in the app logos, perhaps algorithmically. Initially you get six of these tiles but you can also tap on a little arrow icon to further expand the grid like search results.

Although no formal announcement has been made, the change seems to be partly influenced by Google’s new design language known as Material Design. However, unlike Apple iTunes specific guidelines for icon size and shape, some of the Android app icons will be larger squares, others with rounded edges and some are just a different shape altogether. This highlights the uneven design choices for icon styles across the Play Store.

As Google’s business becomes increasingly mobile, there have been a number of changes in recent months to better integrate mobile applications into Google search results. For example, in April, the search results on Android were updated with prompts to install apps that featured content relevant to a user’s search query. Thanks to app indexing, if you were searching for a particular recipe, Google might link to an app that offered a recipe that matched your search term. You may even be linked directly to the page within the app where the recipe was located after you installed and opened the app for the first time.

In May this year, Google rolled out app search results for iOS. However iOS search results still display line-by-line listings instead of the new colourful grid layout.