Google has added a new Early Access section to its Play Store, which allows users to get an early look at upcoming apps and games.
Announced during Google I/O last month, the new section features beta versions of apps that aren’t quite ready for an official release, but are almost there.
Some users were reporting the new feature as live several days ago, but it seems Google has now rolled out the service to everyone.
To get to the new section, open the app store on your mobile or tablet and tap the Apps and Games section in the category list.
You can then either scroll through the main images in the carousel at the top of the page, or find the new section in the horizontal list of sub categories.
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At the time of writing there are two categories available in the Early Access section: ‘Unreleased Apps’ and ‘Games Under Development’.
All the apps in the new section have the word ‘Unreleased’ at the end of their title and the phrase ‘early access’ at the bottom of their individual cards.
Google previously stated that apps appearing in the new section will be ‘hand-picked’ from a range of developers offering open betas.
And it seems
There are plans to introduce open beta tests into Play Store search results, through which users can opt in and offer direct feedback.
The idea is to make open betas more visible to Play Store users and increase the amount of feedback developers get for their apps before release.
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What do you think of Google’s new open beta push? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
