Introducing the Google Play Collections App Shortcut: A Convenient Way to Access Your Personalized Feed
Introduction
Google Play’s Collections feature, introduced in July 2022, provides a unified feed of personalized recommendations across various categories such as Games, Movies, Books, Music, Food, Shopping, and Social. Previously, users could only access these feeds by placing widgets on their home screens. While this option offered flexibility, it could also be inconvenient, especially for those who preferred a minimalist setup.
Introducing the App Shortcut
To address this, Google has introduced an app shortcut for Collections. This shortcut, available within the Google Play Store app, allows users to launch the Collections feed with a simple tap. When long-pressing the Play Store icon on their home screen, users will now see "Collections" listed alongside "My apps" and other options. By dragging the "Collections" shortcut to their home screen, users can create an icon that provides instant access to their personalized feed.
Benefits of the App Shortcut
The app shortcut for Collections offers several benefits:
- Convenience: Users can now launch the Collections feed directly without having to rely on widgets.
- Space-saving: The app shortcut takes up significantly less space on the home screen compared to widgets.
- Accessibility: The app shortcut can be accessed through device search, making it easy to find and launch Collections.
Availability
The Collections app shortcut is being gradually rolled out to users with Google Play Store version 44.8.15 or higher. However, due to a server-side component, it may not be available to everyone immediately. In addition, version 44.9 of the Play Store will bring Collections to Android 10-12 devices in the US.
Customizing Collections
Once you have access to the Collections app shortcut, you can further customize your experience:
- Open the Collections Feed: Simply tap the app shortcut on your home screen.
- View Widget Options: When you open the feed, you’ll see a "See widget options" button. Tap this button to explore different widget sizes and configurations.
- Add Widgets to Your Home Screen: Select the desired widget size and tap "Add to Home screen." You can now place the widget on your home screen for quick access to specific feeds.
Conclusion
The Google Play Collections app shortcut offers a convenient and space-saving way to access your personalized feed. Whether you’re looking to discover new games, movies, or books, or simply catch up on the latest trends, the app shortcut provides instant access to all your favorite content. As the feature continues to roll out, more users will be able to enjoy the benefits of this enhanced user experience.
