Aurora Store, an open-source Play Store client, will soon get even better

XDA

Here's a sneak peek at Aurora Store v4, a big update to the open source Play Store client

By Kishan Vyas

Published Feb 3, 2021

Aurora Store, an open source Google Play Store client, is working on a major update which will bring a revamped UI and improved app discovery.

The Aurora Store is a popular open-source client of the Google Play Store, allowing users to search, download, and update Android apps and games on any device running Android 5.0 and above. The app's main highlight is that it doesn’t require GApps, MicroG, or Google service of any kind. Originally a fork of the Yalp Store, the app was later rewritten from scratch to offer a modern UI with Material Design.

The team behind Aurora Store is working on a major update that improves the app discovery and brings the user interface a step closer to the Google Play Store. XDA Senior Member Hb20032003 has shared some images — originally posted over at Aurora Store’s official Telegram group — giving us a sneak peek at what the fresh UI will look like. As you can see in the screenshots below, the new UI is clearly inspired by the Google Play Store, focusing on making it easier to discover new apps. The old Home, Updates, Categories tabs have been replaced by the Apps, Games, and Updates, and there’s now a floating search button instead of the top search bar. We also see new columns such as "For You," "Top Charts," and "Editor’s Choice," along with proper app categories.

Whether you are on a mission to ditch Google services or have a phone without GMS, such as a Huawei phone, the Aurora Store lets you explore and download virtually all the apps available on the Google Play Store. Even if you don't fall into those camps, features like the ability to spoof your device information and region are enticing enough to give the app a shot.

If you’re interested, you can download the latest stable version of the Aurora Store from the official XDA thread below. The new version of the Aurora Store is not yet available on F-Droid or GitLab, but should soon make its way over there.

Download the Aurora Store app from XDA

Be warned that using Aurora Store with your Google account may result in the deactivation or permanent ban as the app is in direct violation of Google’s Terms and Service 3.3. So proceed at your own risk or use the Anonymous account provided by the app.