Google Chrome Web Store Gets Trending View, App Badges

Google has Google+Chrome+Blog%29″>just announced some improvements to the Chrome Web Store that they hope will make “finding the right app and extension easier.”

Over the past few weeks, we’ve introduced several new features to make it easier to discover new apps and extensions. These can be especially helpful, as the number of apps and extensions in the Chrome Web Store has grown to the tens of thousands.

One of those new features, subcategories for apps, was added to the Web Store recently. Now, a new crop of improvements like Trending view, autocomplete search, and app badges join the party.

First, Trending view is currently an “early version” of what it will eventually be, says Google. Located under the “Popular” tab on the left hand side, the Trending view shows apps and extensions that are “growing fastest” in the Web Store. The speed of their growth is ranked from “warm” to “on fire.”

The new app badges appear on the landing pages of some apps. They are clickable, and generate a list of similar apps – or “apps that have the same functionality.” The two types of app badges you can currently see in the store are “playable on Google+” and “offline,” meaning that particular app will work offline.

Lastly, the search box now has autocomplete – a helpful addition indeed. The Chrome blog also adds that in the next few weeks, most all of the Google+ games will hit the Web Store.