Google is finally working on auto-launch for Play Store downloads

One annoyance with the Google Play Store is that it doesn’t auto launch apps after they’ve been installed. Instead, you need to find the app in your library or where ever it gets put on your home screen.

Reported by Android Authority, it looks like Google is finally working on building a feature that actually auto opens newly installed apps from Play Store.

Android Authority performed an APK teardown on version 41.4.19 of the Google Play Store. Features found in this teardown showed in-progress code that hint at possible future features. Though, it’s not a guarantee this upgrade is coming.

The feature they discovered is called App Auto Open. Like the namesake, it will automatically open an app once it’s installed from the Play Store.

It appears that as part of this feature, a notification will pop up when App Auto Open activates. It will ring or vibrate your device depending on how it’s configured. The feature also appears to be toggleable as well but looks like it will be  looks like it will be on by default.

Android Authority says that despite workarounds they couldn’t get the feature to actually work in their breakdown. Instead, they found the code but it’s not live yet.

It’s too bad though, as this is a long-needed feature and it’s surprising that Google has yet to actually implement it across devices running Android 15 yet.

Coupled with the alleged new notification for the Google Play Store, as seen Android Police, App Auto Open would be a boon. The notification system sends users a reminder 24 hours after the installation of an app if it is left unopened.

Assuming both features actually release you could automatically get an app opened or be reminded you forgot to open it once it’s installed on your Android smartphone. It could also be combined with the recently released feature that allows for simultaneous downloads.

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