Google adds tablet badge, battery warnings
- Google’s April 27 Play Store v51.2 notes say app listings will get a badge for software “designed for large screens” on tablets and foldables. - Separately, Google began showing Play Store battery warnings on March 1 for apps that exceed its excessive partial wake lock threshold. - The changes extend Google’s app-quality push beyond crashes to layout and power use. (support.google.com)
Google is adding a Play Store badge for apps “designed for large screens,” giving tablet and foldable users a new filter before they install. (support.google.com) The change appears in Google’s official system services release notes for Play Store v51.2, dated April 27, 2026. The same changelog also lists a new content-rating view, tablet access to Collections, and subscription-plan details inside ratings and reviews. (support.google.com) The large-screen badge targets a familiar Android problem: apps that open on tablets or book-style foldables in a narrow phone layout with empty space on both sides. Android Police and Android Authority both reported that v51.2 is not broadly rolling out yet. (androidpolice.com) (androidauthority.com) A separate Play Store change is already live for some apps with poor battery behavior. Google said on March 1, 2026, it began rolling out store-listing warnings and discovery penalties for apps that trigger its excessive partial wake lock metric. (android-developers.googleblog.com) (developer.android.com) In plain terms, a partial wake lock is an app instruction that keeps the processor running after the screen turns off. Google says the metric applies when non-exempt wake locks add up to at least two hours in a 24-hour period while the app is in the background or running a foreground service. (developer.android.com) Google says an app can face treatment only when that pattern shows up in more than 5% of user sessions over 28 days. The company developed the metric with Samsung and moved from beta to general availability in late 2025 before the March 2026 enforcement date. (developer.android.com) (android-developers.googleblog.com) Those penalties go beyond a warning label. Google says apps that keep missing the battery threshold may be excluded from discovery surfaces such as recommendations, which can cut visibility before a user ever reaches the install button. (android-developers.googleblog.com) (developer.android.com) Taken together, the two changes show Google pushing Play Store quality checks into two older Android weak spots: stretched phone apps on big screens and hidden battery drain in the background. For users, that means more clues on the listing page and fewer surprises after download. (support.google.com) (developer.android.com)
