On October 28, 2026 (local time), Google announced at its developer conference Android Dev Summit that, starting in 2027, the Google Play Store will evaluate compatibility with foldable devices and large screens, favoring optimized apps with increased visibility, as revealed by the company.
In addition, Google announced an update to the "Compose Adaptive Skill," which assists in adapting existing Android apps for Googlebook and foldable devices.
By leveraging AI coding agents to automate the implementation of keyboard shortcuts and screen layout adjustments, apps with improved usability tailored for laptops are expected to become more widespread for Googlebook users.
Google Play Store to Begin Quality Evaluations for Large Screens and Foldables Starting in 2027
Previously, voluntary optimizations guided by guidelines were encouraged for Android foldables and large-screen devices. However, many apps remained merely stretched versions of their smartphone interfaces, and Google itself acknowledges that optimization has not progressed sufficiently.
In response to this situation, Google indicated an intention to evaluate how apps and games operate on foldable devices within the Google Play Store starting in 2027, offering incentives such as increased visibility and prioritized placement for well-designed apps.
At present, it has not been clarified whether non-compliant apps will face penalties like search rank demotions or if the plan only involves favoring recommended apps.
Further details on the evaluation criteria and requirements to be applied in the Google Play Store are scheduled to be announced later in 2026.
Enhancing the Compose Adaptive Skill Using AI Agents
Alongside the introduction of store-side evaluations, tools to lighten the adaptation burden for developers have also been updated. The "Compose Adaptive Skill," which equips AI coding agents with specialized knowledge, was updated to enable automatic adaptation of existing codebases to large screens and desktop environments.
The updated skill audits existing UIs built with Jetpack Compose, automatically detecting and implementing features such as:
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Keyboard shortcuts
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Custom pointer cursors
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Hover state displays
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Tooltips for buttons and controls
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Layout changes tailored to tabletop postures (automatic refactoring for camera and media screens)
In addition to handling screen transitions and migrating layouts to Grid and Flexbox, it supports end-to-end state management that maintains state across device folding and screen rotations.
This enables developers to support both smartphone and Googlebook laptop form factors with a single codebase without maintaining separate implementations, and users can expect an increasing number of apps that operate naturally using keyboards and trackpads on Googlebook.
Quality Guidelines and Compose Updates Supporting Large-Screen Optimization
Google is guiding developers to proceed with adaptations according to the Android Adaptive App Quality Guidelines for apps, and the Adaptive Game Guidelines for games.
On the platform foundation level, the upcoming stable release of Jetpack Compose 1.13 will officially support adaptive layouts using Grid and Flexbox, while Navigation 3 1.2 will introduce support for deep linking and predictive back navigation, continuing preparations for multi-form-factor environments.