Google is done asking nicely for foldable app optimization

TL;DR Google has announced at the Android Dev Summit that the Play Store will evaluate foldable app quality starting next year, rewarding well-adapted apps with boosted visibility and prominent placement.

While specific criteria for Play Store visibility will be announced later this year, it remains unclear whether non-compliant apps will face active search penalties or simply miss out on promotional incentives.

The quality push comes alongside updated developer tools, including Compose adaptive skill and platform updates, that make it even easier for apps to adapt across foldables, laptops, and other form factors.

Android foldables have existed for almost a decade, but even Google admits that Android apps still haven’t optimized well enough for them. Google is even hopeful that Apple’s iPhone Duo could expand the foldable audience enough to encourage better app experiences across both iOS and Android, and we already see a glimpse of that with iPhone Duo’s app support on launch day. …