The great thing about Android is that it can live on a multitude of devices. We have smartphones, tablets, refrigerators, car entertainment systems, and the list could really go on. With a wide range of Android devices, you also get a wide range of different experiences. This is where having a unified app rating and review system starts to show its problems. Although an app might get high praise from thousands, hundreds could also have issues. Because of this, Google announced plans to make its Play Store rating system more personalized by adding a device-specific rating filter.  Thankfully, that change has finally arrived nearly a year after its initial announcement.

Mishaal Rahman of Esper spotted the implementation of this new system in the Google Play Store, which should now be live for all users. The description of the change states that to make ratings and reviews more relevant, the Google Play Store will show ratings "based on the device they are on," with "users on phones being able to further filter by the country or region. By opening the Google Play Store, users will be greeted with a message letting them know how ratings are calculated, informing them that ratings will be based on recent reviews and that reviews shown will be from those in the same region using the same type of device. Furthermore, if you want a review that caters to the specific device you own, you can go into the filter tab within the review section and filter reviews by device model.

While this is a good first step, some areas could still use some work. As Rahman pointed out, foldable devices are still categorized by Google as tablet devices. While this won't cause a huge issue, further refinements could be implemented to make the system a bit more concise, considering the changing landscape of mobile devices.

Source: Mishaal Rahman (Twitter), Android Police