Google plans to bury crash-prone apps

An important point in the iOS vs Android debate has always been the quality of apps. Android has a reputation for compromising security by harbouring malicious apps. This week Google announced that it plans to fix this problem. 

Google is coming out with a new Play Store search and ranking algorithm that takes into account an app’s performance metrics.

According to the company, the new algorithm will downrank apps that might have performance issues like excessive battery usage or slow render time. Apps that crash will also be downranked. Google says it will also take into consideration how many uninstalls a particular app has. Its aim is to ensure only the best apps are promoted. In search results, the algorithm will prioritise apps that are stable, have better user ratings, user engagement, etc. Google will look at a variety of quality signals related to an app’s performance before ranking it.

Such a move came after the company realised that around half of the 1-star reviews on Play Store relate to app stability problems. This ranking algorithm update will now force developers with buggy apps to address their issues. 

Google’s decision will affect small app makers who heavily rely on Play Store search for new installs. Apps such as Facebook or Instagram will not be affected, even if they are known for hogging battery life.

Publishing apps on Google Play Store is comparatively easy and free, unlike with Apple. Although this has helped Play Store gain an upper hand when it comes to app count in comparison with App Store, limited quality control mechanisms mean that not all apps are of good quality.

Google is also making available a tool called Android Vitals in the Google Play Console to help app makers understand how their app behaves and find the key points they need to address in order to improve app performance.