Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Earlier this week, Google started rolling out a new Search tab to its tablet Play Store, which removes direct access to the search bar inside the app and requires you to first open the Search tab and then tap the bar to start typing what you’re looking for. What Google failed to tell everyone is that there’s a quick but hidden workaround to quickly start searching, but few people would know it.
And this workaround isn’t just limited to the Play Store on Android tablets; it also applies to the Play Store on Android phones, as well as Google Photos on both phones and tablets. And if any other Google apps gets updated to replace the top search bar with a new separate search tab, then it will likely carry through to them as well.
So, what’s this hidden trick?
Well, it’s as simple as double-tapping the search tab button at the bottom of the screen. When you do it in the Play Store, the Search tab will open up with the cursor straight in the search box at the top, and the keyboard will be visible so you can start typing the name of the app or game you’re looking for.
Check the video below to see how this works. I used the double-tap gesture three times to trigger a search for Arc Search, Balatro, and Whatsapp, always going back to the Apps tab after each attempt.
I use this same gesture in the Google Photos app. That’s another place where Google has removed the top search bar from the main app screen and replaced it with a new bottom tab. Luckily, double-tapping also lets me start typing immediately to find the photos and videos I’m looking for.
After using this gesture for a few weeks now, I’m getting used to it. But it certainly wasn’t natural to me at first, and it took a while for me to remember that this quick shortcut exists to bypass opening the full Search tab first to get to my actual search. What I dislike the most, though, is that Google doesn’t show any hint to users to tell them that this bypass exists. You either discover it by mistake… or you read Android Authority. If that’s you, you’re welcome.
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