[APK] Latest Google Play Store 4.8.19: PayPal Support, Simplified App Permissions, Bigger Buttons


Google has certainly been busy today with all sorts of Play Store improvements, and here's a new version of the Android client to top it all off. Version 4.8.19 has started rolling out to devices, and we've got the APK below for you to install on your own.
We're digging in to see what's new. We already knew about the PayPal and some UI tweaks, but it's looking like there's more going on.

What's New? : Down below

New Headers

Googler Kirill Grouchnikov posted a preview of the new header images and action bar area in the Play Store video/book sections. There's more transparency, which interferes with the hero image less. That's in this version of the Play Store, but only in the specified areas. The action bar fades in as you slide down, which is a neat effect. The search button in the action bar has also switched places with share – it's always on the far right now (you'll see that throughout the comparison screens).
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Here are some animated GIFs AndroidPolice created that we know you love:
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Left: old Play Store. Right: new Play Store
One more tweak to the headers can be seen when posting a review. The old boring box to type your rantings is gone, replaced with a slick new version using a round avatar and colorful background. Oh, and 'excellent' for five stars is now 'loved it' for whatever reason.
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Far Left: old Play Store. Middle and Right: new Play Store
That's as far as the transparency goes with the new headers. Kirill responded to a question about transparent nav and status bars, as well as immersive mode. The two get confused a lot, but you should just go through the thread. Lots of armchair UI designers in there.

New Additional Information Section

Down at the bottom app listings in the Play Store, there is a new Additional Information section. This lists the latest app version, installed size, content rating, and has a link for permissions (discussed below). Some of this info was in the description, but you had to expand that section to see it. It's much easier to see this way.
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Left: old Play Store. Right: new Play Store

Simplified Permission Lists

When you're installing an app, the permission list is now collapsed into categories like location, WiFi, and camera/microphone. You can tap on any of them to see the expanded permissions. The descriptions are also a bit more clear. Down at the bottom in the aforementioned details section, there's a cool permissions link that pops up an overlay with all the permissions. So you no longer have to pretend to install an app just to see the permissions.
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Far Left: old Play Store. Middle and Right: new Play Store
As of this update, the network communication permissions including the “full Internet access” permission have been removed from the primary list. The remaining network access permissions focus on specific access types that are more descriptive of what an app wants to do with your connection. The Play Store also decides which new permissions you need to be notified of upon updates by groups, not individual entries. Check the support page for a fuller explanation.

Big Buttons

One thing you'll notice throughout the new Play Store is that the scale of buttons has been tweaked. They're all larger and easier to hit now, which was long overdue.
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Far Left: old Play Store. Middle and Right: new Play Store

Paypal Support

The PayPal support announced earlier today seems to be enabled by this update, but it's not showing up for everyone yet. Almost all of us are seeing the PayPal button at the bottom of the payment methods screen when buying content in the new Play Store client.
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