Google has announced that it will adjust app review scores by country and use devices to make them more useful to users and developers.
Those who search for apps on the Play Store can base themselves on a ‘rating’, a review score that until now has mainly been calculated based on all scores received. However, a new system, which Google announced on its Android blog, considers the device and the country of the user who wrote the score.
The reason for this is that apps on one device often work better or worse than on another device. Think especially of the difference in screen size between smartphones, tablets and foldable phones. Not every app is going to look good on every one of those devices. The same applies to the country in which that device is registered.
Apps may function differently because certain functions are not allowed by law or because the language may or may not contribute to the enjoyment of the app.
This should result in more relevant scores for users, but such a system is also beneficial for developers. For example, suppose your app is not moving forward on one specific type of device, which might be something to fix. The scores-by-country will be rolled out in the Play Store starting November.
Ratings that take into account the shape of the device, including tablets, foldable, Chrome OS, Wear OS and Android Auto, will come in 2022.
