Is there a way force the phone to check for updates on all installed apps?
No. I've often found out from FB or friends, that an app has an update out there I could get yet my phone hasn't prompted me to get the update. I wanted to know also if there's a way to FORCE my Play Store to do a check for available updates but I don't think it does. What I have found helps is restarting the whole phone and that sometimes kicks the Store to go out and look.
When there are app updates I get notifications in my top bar that tells me. Even tells me how many 3,4,5,how ever many there are. So the answer to your question is yes. Go into settings in the catalog and check it out.
EVO-LUTION 4G LTE