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9to5Google, a new look for the Google Play Store has surfaced and results in no search bar at the top of the page. This search bar is replaced by a dedicated Search tab at the bottom of the screen. On “X”,
leaker AssembleDebug has posted a screenshot of the redesigned Play Store app that includes the new Search tab. When you tap the Search tab, the search box reappears at the top of the screen. If another tab is open, with one exception, the search box disappears.
However, some users found themselves without a search box at the top of the screen and without a Search tab. If you're in this situation, tapping the Books tab will bring a search box back to the top of the screen. Or, if you want to make things a little more difficult for yourself, you can tap a suggested
app and then tap the magnifying glass search icon at the top of the page. This will bring a search box back to the top of the screen.
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There is also a long-running “Hail Mary” game that you can try, but it has possible unintended side effects. From your Home screen, long-press the Play Store icon and tap App Info. Press Storage and cache And Clear storage. This may or may not help, but keep in mind that deleting your Play Store storage could negatively impact app updates. While this is an option, it may not be worth trying.
A dedicated search tab is coming to the Play Store (L) although some users have lost their search bar and don't have a search tab (R)
Google pushes Play Store changes through a server-side update and no specific version of the Play Store app sees the changes. Also, not many Android users have seen the updated version from the Play Store, certainly not my Pixel 6
Pro which is running Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2.
So the multi-billion dollar question (it used to be a million-dollar question, but inflation, well, you know) is how does this help Play Store users? That's a good question, because Google has a reputation for doing things just for the sake of doing things. It's not like Google is using the space where the search box was to add a new feature.
If your Google Play Store app still has the search bar at the top of the screen, take advantage of it now because it will disappear soon.
