This lesser known Google Play Store trick can save you hours

Clicking two times just to open the Search box on Play Store? If you often use the Play Store, here's a quick trick that can help you time in the long run.

The Play Store is one of the go-to place for Android users to download and discover new apps. (Image Source: Google)

Google Play Store is the go-to app store for millions of Android users to download and discover apps. Over the years, the tech giant has rolled out several redesigns and features that make it really useful.

However, in August last year, Google moved the Play Store’s Search bar from the top of the screen to the bottom bar in the form of a button. While this was a welcome change for some, it requires users to make two taps if they want to search for an app, book or other things on the Google Play Store.

If you are someone who barely opens the Play Store, this may not matter much, but it may be a hassle if you frequently launch the Play Store to install, uninstall or update apps. However, there’s a simple trick that will avoid this and quickly access the search bar’s text box with a single tap.

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The Play Store redesign was introduced in August last year. (Express Photo)

The next time you open the Google Play Store, simply double-tap on the Search button located in the middle of the bottom bar, and the Play Store will directly let you tap in the search box. Google Play Store’s search bar looks across all content on the platform and is not limited only to apps, meaning you can search for books or movies using the redesigned search button.

To give you a quick recap, Google recently added a new “auto-open when ready” toggle, which, as the name suggests, automatically launches the app when it’s installed. This is really useful for people who install an app and forget to launch it afterwards.

In the Epic Games vs Google case, the tech giant’s request to freeze a court order that forced it to restore competition by allowing users to download rival app stores from the Play Store was declined. This means Google will soon allow third-party app stores like Aptoide and TapTap to list themselves on the Play Store.