Currently, Google Play Store features a Collections tool that groups similar apps into categories like Food, Game, Listen, Read, Shop, Social, Travel, and Watch. As of now, two widgets are available for users to implement on their Android home screens. The first widget, sized at 4 x 1, showcases icons for four categories: Watch, Game, Read, and Listen. Users can tap the waffle icon to access the App library, which organizes apps by content category.

This widget can be expanded to a 4 x 2 size to include icons for Food, Shop, and Social, or even stretched to cover the full screen, displaying all seven icons vertically along one side.

To add these widgets to your Android device, simply long-press on an empty space on your home screen. When the menu appears, select Widgets. Then, tap on Browse at the bottom of the display, scroll down to locate the Google Play Store, and choose your desired widget. Press "+Add" to place it on your home screen.

The significant news is that Google plans to release eight distinct widgets, each corresponding to one of the Collections categories. Currently, users can only utilize a general widget that requires an additional tap to choose a specific category. However, with the new individual widgets, accessing a specific category like Shopping will be as simple as tapping the respective widget.

This change was discovered in version 52.1.26-31 of the Play Store Android app, and while the release date is not yet known, users can expect these enhancements in the near future.

Once these individual widgets are rolled out, the process will be streamlined. Instead of tapping the main widget and then selecting the Shop icon to find shopping apps, you will just need to tap the Shop collection widget directly, effectively saving a step and enhancing your experience.

For users who prefer not to use widgets, the Play Store Collections can still be accessed directly. Long-press the Play Store icon on your home screen, then select Collections from the app shortcut menu. This takes you directly to the Collections page, where you can easily navigate through categories like Watch, Game, Read, Listen, Food, Shop, and Social.