What is the Google Store?

If you are interested in Google products, you may have stumbled upon the Google Store. This is where Google sells its own products, but that wasn’t always the case. The Google Store has an interesting history.

The Google Store started as a tab

Google’s first “store” was the Android Marketplace. It only existed on Android devices and offered Android apps and games. Google has gradually added different types of content to the Android Market, which has necessitated a branding change to “Google Play”.

The Google Play Store is home to many types of digital products, but it’s also where Google has sold Nexus phones and tablets, Chromecasts, and Chromebooks. It was all under the “Devices” tab on the Play Store.

Eventually, Google became more interested in making its own hardware, which led to the creation of the Google Store.

“Made by Google”

The first hardware device developed entirely in-house by Google was the Nexus Q media device in 2012. At that time, the only hardware sold on the Play Store was Nexus devices, which were not built by Google itself.

The Nexus Q ultimately failed, but it led to the Chromecast in 2013, which was a huge success. This was just the beginning of Google’s interest in developing its own products in-house and acquiring hardware companies.

The Google Store was officially launched in March 2015. Until then, Google had only tried hardware devices. However, the company was preparing to take a big step forward in this area, and the launch of the Google Store was a big step.

The following year, Google introduced the first Pixel phones and the original Google Home smart speaker. This launched the “Made by Google” initiative. Since then, dozens of products have been launched in the Google Store. It’s home to Pixel phones, Nest smart devices, Chromecast, Chromebooks, and accessories.

What can you buy from the Google Store?

Google distributes digital products in the Play Store, but as mentioned earlier, its material is sold in the Google Store. This includes Pixel phones, Chromebooks, Chromecast, Nest devices, and some Google partner products.

The Google Store isn’t the only place available to purchase Google hardware. Many of its products can be purchased from retailers, including Best Buy and Amazon. However, if you buy a Google product from Google itself, you will generally experience better customer support and replacements.

An equivalent of the Google Store would be the Apple Store. It is a store owned by the company that manufactures the products sold. In both examples, you can find third-party products, but the majority of the items are from the store owner.

Unlike the Apple Store, the Google Store is just an online marketplace. There is no such thing as a “physical” Google Store in the real world. You can find specific Google sections or “pop-up shops” at stores like Best Buy, but that’s it.

The only exception to the “physical products” rule in the Google Store is for subscriptions. You can purchase subscriptions to services such as Google One, Stadia Pro, and YouTube Premium. These are subscriptions that usually come with physical products.

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Google’s description of the Google Store is the simplest explanation for its purpose: “Google Store for Google Made devices and accessories.” That’s really all it is.