Google has certainly been busy today with all sorts of Play Store improvements, and here's a new version of the Android client to top it all off. Version 4.8.19 has started rolling out to devices, and we've got the APK below for you to install on your own.

We're digging in to see what's new. We already knew about the PayPal and some UI tweaks, but it's looking like there's more going on.

Update 6/1/14: 4.8.20, a small bug fixer, has been released.

Update 7/15/14: 4.8.22, another bug fixer, was just released. You can find updated download links at the bottom of this post.

What's New?

This is a pretty big update to the Play Store app in terms of UI and features. We'll be updating as we go along here, so check back.

New Headers

Googler Kirill Grouchnikov posted a preview of the new header images and action bar area in the Play Store video/book sections. There's more transparency, which interferes with the hero image less. That's in this version of the Play Store, but only in the specified areas. The action bar fades in as you slide down, which is a neat effect. The search button in the action bar has also switched places with share – it's always on the far right now (you'll see that throughout the comparison screens).

Update: Here are some animated GIFs we've created that we know you love:

Left: old Play Store. Right: new Play Store

One more tweak to the headers can be seen when posting a review. The old boring box to type your rantings is gone, replaced with a slick new version using a round avatar and colorful background. Oh, and 'excellent' for five stars is now 'loved it' for whatever reason.

Far Left: old Play Store. Middle and Right: new Play Store

That's as far as the transparency goes with the new headers. Kirill responded to a question about transparent nav and status bars, as well as immersive mode. The two get confused a lot, but you should just go through the thread. Lots of armchair UI designers in there.

New Additional Information Section

Down at the bottom of app listings in the Play Store, there is a new Additional Information section. This lists the latest app version, installed size, content rating, and has a link for permissions (discussed below). Some of this info was in the description, but you had to expand that section to see it. It's much easier to see this way.

Left: old Play Store. Right: new Play Store

Simplified Permission Lists

When you're installing an app, the permission list is now collapsed into categories like location, WiFi, and camera/microphone. You can tap on any of them to see the expanded permissions. The descriptions are also a bit more clear. Down at the bottom in the aforementioned details section, there's a cool permissions link that pops up an overlay with all the permissions. So you no longer have to pretend to install an app just to see the permissions.

Far Left: old Play Store. Middle and Right: new Play Store

As of this update, the network communication permissions including the “full Internet access” permission have been removed from the primary list. The remaining network access permissions focus on specific access types that are more descriptive of what an app wants to do with your connection. The Play Store also decides which new permissions you need to be notified of upon updates by groups, not individual entries. Check the support page for a fuller explanation.

Big Buttons

One thing you'll notice throughout the new Play Store is that the scale of buttons has been tweaked. They're all larger and easier to hit now, which was long overdue.

Far Left: old Play Store. Middle and Right: new Play Store

Paypal Support

The PayPal support announced earlier today seems to be enabled by this update, but it's not showing up for everyone yet. Almost all of us are seeing the PayPal button at the bottom of the payment methods screen when buying content in the new Play Store client.

Odds And Ends

A few other small things here.

The Redeem option now looks like the Settings button in the slide-out navigation bar rather than the primary navigation item.

File Size History

com.android.vending-4.0.27.apk 5.89 MB (6,181,458 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.1.6.apk 5.75 MB (6,036,474 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.1.10.apk 5.76 MB (6,040,792 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.2.3.apk 5.76 MB (6,046,580 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.2.9.apk 5.84 MB (6,129,144 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.3.10.apk 5.75 MB (6,036,657 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.3.11.apk 5.75 MB (6,038,575 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.4.21.apk 5.84 MB (6,126,172 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.4.22.apk 5.84 MB (6,126,834 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.5.10.apk 6.62 MB (6,951,714 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.6.16.apk 6.21 MB (6,520,554 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.8.19.apk 6.85MB (7,015,533 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.8.20.apk 6.69 MB (7,015,601 bytes)

com.android.vending-4.8.22.apk 6.69 MB (7,016,172 bytes)

Download

The APK is signed by Google and upgrades your existing app. The cryptographic signature guarantees that the file is safe to install and was not tampered with in any way. Rather than wait for Google to push this download to your devices, which can take days, download and install it just like any other APK.

File name: com.android.vending-4.8.22.apk

Version: 4.8.22 (Android 2.2+).

MD5: 854b8631eec3d2b0147f35fc122b3c73.

Thanks to +Matthieu Harlé for the APK!