How Google Play differs from Google Store and what you can buy there

, are wondering what the small label with the signature “Play Market” means.
Some are wary of the fact that it hides an online store with more than a million applications, games and other programs, as they are afraid to spend money on purchasing any application. In fact, Play Market is a very useful service. It belongs to Google (which owns the rights to the Android OS itself) and is a “branded” online store. All programs presented in it are divided into several categories (“Applications”, “Games”, “Music”, “Books”, etc.), each of which has its own subclassification (by genres, styles, directions, etc.) . Play Market products are largely free, but the cost of paid programs is quite low. Any user of an Android smartphone, for example the Highscreen
, can use the Play Market application.

Google Play - what is it

This is a service that provides access to many applications running on the Android system.

Now this service is divided into several categories, which are divided according to the user’s interests.

These are the categories:

• Entertainment.
• Applications.
• Music.
• Movies.
• Books.
• Press.

Moreover, each category is divided into subcategories. For example, these could be “New Products”, “Bestsellers”.

There is also a search bar at the top of this service. The user can enter a keyword or the name of the application he is interested in. The system will independently find the application he needs or provide several similar ones to choose from.

Enable parental controls

Why is this necessary?

If you want your child to only have access to age-appropriate content, then pay attention to this option. Spend just a few minutes setting the right limits and your child's psyche will be saved.

How to do

1. Launch the Google Play application.
2. Pull out the panel on the left and open the app settings.
3. In the “Personal” section, tap the “Parental Controls” option.
4. Activate control and set a password.
5. Set the necessary age restrictions.

Google Play Features and Benefits

Why does a person need this service? With it, the user can:

• Disable automatic updates. This feature will be useful for people using smartphones with low power. If all the applications running on such a smartphone begin to be updated at once, then the phone may not be able to withstand this and will break. And disabling this function significantly saves user traffic and phone memory space. But experts strongly advise against disabling auto-updates. Usually, developers release new firmware for a phone or for a particular program in order to eliminate errors and shortcomings. And by disabling auto-updates, the user cannot update his downloaded programs. So he uses programs with old firmware and errors that interfere with the normal operation of the application.
• Prevent adding new icons to your phone's desktop. This feature is useful for those users who have customized their phone desktop and do not want to spoil it so as not to lose something important.
• Enable parental controls. This option will be useful for people with children. So, parents can put a password on the necessary applications, and their child will not be able to watch content that is not intended for small children.
• Set up a wish list. This option is needed for those users who have found an interesting book or movie and don’t want to lose them in order to watch them in the future. You can put a special bookmark on the desired movie, and the phone will automatically find it at the right moment for the user.
• Use useful programs that his friends have downloaded.
• Use only relevant and popular content.
• Prevent certain applications from updating. If a user has been using one application for a long time, and does not want to change anything in it or update it, then he can put a special ban on this application.

Don't forget that Google Play is a service that has many positive qualities.

Here the user can:

• Use a secure application that very rarely encounters errors. It doesn't freeze and rarely crashes from the system. This is achieved due to the fact that the developers of this service carefully monitor the comments that users leave under applications. Based on these comments, they correct the errors that have arisen.
• Install updates yourself and update the operating system to the latest version. Moreover, updates are downloaded from the company’s official website and are released very often.
• Take advantage of recommendations from friends who also use this application.
• Get feedback directly from the developers of this application.

And also here:

• the user's phone is protected from any unauthorized actions;
• the client can synchronize several accounts on one device at once;
• can save a bookmark, go to settings, study history;
• the user can use several services owned by Google at once. For example, only here can a user log in to YouTube, Play Disc, Google+ simultaneously;
• the client can store all his information in a special cloud.

How to use Play Store on your computer

If it is more convenient for you to study the application catalog through a computer, then there is such an opportunity. You need to go to the main page (play.google.com/store) and log in with your Google account.

To download the desired application, you need to find it in the search or in the catalog, click the “Install” button, then you will be asked to confirm the action, you need to enter the password for your account, then select the device on which the application will be installed and click “Install”. It is important that the device is connected to the Internet, then the installation will begin automatically.

The Play Store application is definitely a necessary element of the Android OS. Users spend 90% of their time on a smartphone in applications, rather than just making calls.

What you need to use Google Play

Using the Google Play service is easy.

But it is important that the user has:

• Google account. Without it, it will be impossible to download any application from the Play Market.
• An application through which the client will download programs. Surprisingly, some new phones do not have this application. Moreover, if the user has downloaded an application similar to the official service, then he must delete it and download the correct application.

Remember, if the client himself deleted the application from his phone, he will have to download it again.

Don't forget also that the list of available applications depends on the phone's firmware. In addition to the regular firmware offered by Android, the client can install some proprietary firmware. Then the list of applications will be slightly different, but the available applications should be enough for normal operation.

Disadvantages of BlueStacks 4

A significant drawback of Bluestack, and indeed any similar emulators, is that they are demanding on PC resources; you must have a computer with a fast processor (preferably multi-core with a frequency above 2 GHz), a considerable amount of RAM (for comfortable work you will need at least 2 GB of RAM) , operating system Windows 7 or later (macOS Sierra or later), and free disk space (the more applications (games) you plan to install, the more space you will need). Other cons:

Built-in advertising. Emulators try to make money, including from integrated advertising, which is shown in the emulator window.

Difficulty setting up. If the emulator works somehow wrong, some options you need are disabled, you will have to go into the jungle of settings.

Not all content may be available through the emulator. To clarify this question, go to the official website of the Bluestack emulator and find the application you need in the application directory there; to do this, you can use the search, or find it manually through the list of categories.

How to enter the Play Store from a tablet or smartphone

1. You can download this application from your mobile phone or desktop computer. The main thing is that the user has Gmail. And if the client does not have his own mailbox on this service, then he should register one. After that, he can freely enter the Play Market and download any application he likes. And if the client actively uses a regular computer, then it is recommended to connect it to a Wi-Fi network before downloading the application. And if he cannot do this, then the Internet can be connected via a USB cable.
2. But the easiest way to access the Play Market is through a mobile device.
3. In addition, you can use the Play Market from your tablet. Typically, this application is used by those citizens who do not want to spend extra money on downloading and updating programs. They can be downloaded and updated from the tablet via Wi-Fi. The main thing is to configure it exactly for the required tasks. And on the tablet, the necessary application shortcuts can be displayed directly on the main desktop. Here you can also connect an automatic application update system and parental controls that apply specifically to already downloaded applications.

If a client links his bank card to this application, then he should set up an additional authentication system and clear the history of his search queries more often.

Disable automatic updates

Why is this necessary?

This advice will be useful primarily to owners of low-power gadgets, whom massive application updates put into a state of stupor. This is especially annoying if you decide to spend a few happy minutes with a book or want to watch a movie in peace, and all the programs suddenly start downloading and installing their new versions.

How to do

1. Launch the Google Play application.
2. Pull out the panel on the left and open the app settings.
3. In the “General” section, tap on the “Auto-update applications” option. Set it to Never.

Security and permissions

Most often, users on Google Play download free applications. They, of course, have limited functionality. But it can be expanded. True, this is done for an additional fee.

Moreover, in free applications the user can be bothered not only by limited actions, but also by constant advertising.

Particular attention should be paid to the extension of the downloaded application. It is with the help of it that the application gets to the main functions of the mobile device itself.

Most often the application asks you to connect:

• organizer with voice note-taking;
• microphone.

But if the video player asks for access to the contact list, then it is better not to carry out such synchronization. Usually, in this way, contextual advertising makes its way into the phone, but sometimes some harmful viruses also get into the user’s phone.

But now Android has a function that prohibits giving dubious programs access to the settings and basic functions of the phone.

Advantages of Bluestack 4

The main advantage is obvious: you get access to mobile content on the Play Market, you can play games that are not available anywhere else, and use exclusive programs. Other benefits:

• High download speed. Even on a smartphone connected to Wi-Fi, the Internet speed can be low; if you move away from the signal source, sometimes you cannot download even a small update, whereas on a PC your speed is always maximum.
• Performance. Not every smartphone can handle the latest titles, but a powerful gaming PC can do it.
• Autonomy. Demanding games quickly drain the battery; this problem is not relevant for PCs.
• Ease of working with text. The virtual keyboard with autocorrect is good, but it’s much faster and more convenient to type text from a computer keyboard.

Convenient gameplay using a gamepad. Bluestack provides native game controller compatibility, meaning you only need to connect your gamepad to your computer and Bluestack will detect it and prepare it for you to play. If the emulator does not find the gamepad right away, go to the Bluestack settings, in the Game Control section, check the box next to Enable Gamepad Detection, switch the option to Auto to automatically detect the gamepad.

Control templates for keyboard and mouse. Playing mobile games on a PC can be inconvenient because the controls are designed for a touch screen, but Bluestack comes to the rescue here too with its control templates designed for various gaming genres. You can create your own templates and share them with the Bluestack community. The advanced control settings (Ctrl+Shift+A) contain various simulations of control elements for MOBA and shooter games. In this way, you can achieve the utmost similarity of controls in a mobile and computer game.

Smart control function. Some games, such as shooting games, have a smart control option that uses artificial intelligence to analyze what's happening on the screen and highlight key control points.

Automatic translation. Many games are created exclusively for specific languages, such as English or Chinese, and developers usually take their time with translation, well, Bluestack is ready to offer a special automatic translation feature in real time! Just press a button and the content on the screen will be translated into one of the supported languages. The translation is displayed as a screenshot (screenshot) on top of the main screen with the game; you can return to the game simply by switching to the emulator window.

Hotkeys. To launch the most useful functions, Bluestack suggests using hotkeys - these are simple combinations of buttons, by completing which you can activate a certain function, for example, by pressing Ctrl+Shift+L the game screen will be translated into the language of your choice for translation.

Safety. Viruses created for Android cannot harm Windows.

Where does the content come from?

Currently, Google Play has about 1,500,000 different applications. Moreover, they are not developed by Google itself. They are sold by third parties. But to place your program on this service, the developer needs to pay $25.

And the application cannot get into this service due to geographical restrictions.

Most often, only 3 countries can upload programs to this service. One of them is Russia.

Currently, this service offers programs related to media and social networks. All programs are thoroughly tested before being downloaded by the user. They should not contain harmful viruses. And now Google Play even has its own antivirus program called Google Play Protect.

What are Google Play services

Many people think that these are applications, but they are not. If the user tries to remove them, he will not succeed. But this service is available on all devices running the Android operating system. Services are linked directly to the Android operating system itself. They see regular updates, the number of permissions. They have access to SMS. Such programs can control them.

This service also has access to confidential log data, i.e. he has access to all the information that is available on Google. This is an API package that ensures that applications are not dependent on running Android OS updates.

How to update Play Store

As a rule, users do not encounter this issue, since the market updates itself.

If you have a device with an old version of Android, the Play Market will not be updated accordingly, and even its name will be old. Launch it, and your smartphone will automatically update it to the latest version.

If the Play Market is the latest version, but there are doubts about its relevance, you can find the “Play Market Version” item in the settings; if updates are found, you will be asked to switch to the latest version.

Is it possible to disable Google Play Services

Experts say that Google Play services cannot be removed from the phone. But you can turn them off.

To do this, the user must do the following. He must:

1. Enter "Settings".
2. Go to the "Applications" category.
3. Select the "All" tab
4. Go to the Google Play Services category, click on the “Disable” tab.

And if the client cannot click on this tab, then he must do the following. He must:

• Open the “Settings” tab.
• Go to the "Security" section.
• Click on the “Device Administrators” tab, disable phone manager rights.

When disabling these services, remember that some applications will also not work if disabled. For example, Google Play definitely won’t work.

Preventing new program icons from being added to the desktop

Why is this necessary?

This setting will be useful to those users who, using some third-party shell, have created an unusual desktop for themselves, the structure of which can be disrupted when new icons are unceremoniously added automatically.

How to do

1. Launch the Google Play application.
2. Pull out the panel on the left and open the app settings.
3. Uncheck the box next to Add Icons.