Google first showcased the Play Collections widget in July. Play Collections Widget was designed to centralize widgets from different apps including games and entertainment apps into one convenient menu. Now, it’s officially rolling out for Android phones and tablets in the USA. If you’re outside the U.S., you can expect to see it arrive over the next few weeks or months.
For those in the USA, ensure Google Play Store is updated to version 42.5.15. You should see the Collections widget in the Widgets section of your Android smartphone or tablet.
How Does It Work?
The Play Collections widget pulls content from the Google Play Store, Google Services, and other partner apps. But before we dive into how it works and what content it showcases, here’s a quick look at the widget’s UI:
As you can see, there are two styles: Compact Bar and Recommended Feed. The Compact Bar offers a simple dock with a list of categories. Recommended Feed takes over your entire home screen, placing categories on the side and a carousel-style card with apps, games, music, food, and more on the right.
So, how does this help in your day-to-day life? For example:
- If you tap the Listen icon, the widget might recommend a ‘Continue Listening’ card alongside newly released music and podcasts.
- Tap on Food, and it could suggest nearby restaurants via Google Maps, along with cooking tips and recipe videos from YouTube.
- There’s an App Library tab that will display all the apps installed on your phone, neatly sorted into categories.
All in all, whether you want quick access to different categories or discover new and personalized content, Google’s Play Collections widget is bound to come in handy. Plus, you have the option to disable specific apps from appearing in your feed. To do that, head to Play Collections, tap your profile picture, and select Collection settings.
Supported Apps at Launch
At the moment, not many apps are integrated with Collections, but we can expect more to be added over time as developers adopt the Engage SDK. Here are a few notable apps currently supported:
- Food: Maps, Uber Eats, YouTube
- Listen: Audible, GoodFM, iHeart, Spotify, YouTube Music
- Read: Audible, Blinkist, Kobo Books, Play Books
- Shop: Adidas, AliExpress, Best Buy, Walmart, Wish
- Social: Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr
- Watch: ABC, Boomerang, Discovery+, Disney NOW, Disney+, Fox News, Hulu, KOCOWA, NBC, Paramount+, Peacock, Plex, Pluto TV, Prime Video
(Source)
