Google announced changes which will be made to its Play store next month that are designed to promote apps targeting tablet users.

Following the introduction of a “designed for tablets” section earlier this year, from 21 November the company will automatically present tablet users with apps and games specifically targeting these devices, via its “top” category lists (top paid, top free, top grossing, top new paid, top new free and trending).

And from the same date, apps which do not have tablet versions will be marked as “designed for phones” for users browsing the store with a tablet device.

While Android is gaining share in the tablet market – Strategy Analytics said that the platform secured a “robust” 67 per cent share in the second quarter of 2013 – the supporting app catalogue has been seen as something of a weak point.

Earlier this year, research firm Canalys said that only 52 per cent of the top iPad apps were available for Android tablets, with an additional 18 per cent listed only as a phone version that was not optimised for larger screens.

“Google needs to do more to encourage greater numbers of developers to invest in delivering high-quality Android tablet apps quickly, else it risks disappointing consumers with weak app experiences in the short term,” it warned.

For its part, Google has introduced the “designed for tablets” designation in line with a “tablet app quality checklist”.