Google Play Store upgrade quietly axed one handy review filter

Google giveth, and Google taketh away. When we told you earlier about Google Play Store’s new review search bar, we neglected to point out that Google seems to have removed one option in the process. The latest version of the Play Store makes it easier to search for reviews by keyword, but it has also removed the option to filter reviews by your exact device model.

We spotted the change in Play Store version 50.7.24-31. Previously, when you opened the full reviews page and tapped the sort/filter button that’s labeled as “Most relevant” by default, you’d see options to sort by Most relevant or Most recent, plus checkboxes for “Latest version” and “This device model.” In the latest version, that single filter menu has been replaced by three separate chips across the top of the screen: one for sorting, one for filtering by rating, and one for only showing reviews for the latest app version. The device model option is no longer there.

The first two screenshots above show the filter option as it was before the last version, and what you saw when you tapped it. The third image shows the new layout. This means you can no longer narrow things down to feedback from people using the same phone as you, which was often one of the more useful ways to judge whether a bug or performance complaint might actually affect your device.

Whether you’re happy with this trade-off depends entirely on how you assess app reviews. On the one hand, the new layout is cleaner and arguably clearer, especially now that you can use the new search bar to search for your device by name. On the other hand, it drops a feature that could be genuinely helpful when app behavior varies between devices. A one-star review from someone on an aging budget phone might not tell you much if you’re using a recent flagship, and vice versa.

Google first introduced device-specific review filtering back in 2022 as part of a broader push to make Play Store ratings and reviews feel more relevant. We can only speculate why it’s disappeared now. It may be that Google noticed not many people were using the filter, or maybe it simply didn’t fit into the simplified review UI. If you feel it’s a step backward, let us know in the comments.