In a bid to improve app security and performance on the Google Play Store for years to come, Google today announced some new guidelines for Android app developers. The company has said that all Android apps will have to support 64-bit code by August 2019. The company isn’t ditching 32-bit compatibility, but it’s making it mandatory for apps to support 64-bit code starting August 2019. Google has offered an explanation for this.
The company explains that there will eventually be Android-powered devices that only support 64-bit code. Apps that rely on 32-bit code will not work on these devices. To prevent compatibility issues a few years down the road, it’s making it mandatory for apps to support 64-bit starting August 2019.
There are some other requirements as well. Starting August 2018, all new apps will have to target the Android Oreo programming interface. The apps won’t necessarily require Oreo, this will just ensure that they don’t skimp on the newer features. Google says that this is to ensure that apps are built on the latest APIs that are optimized for security and performance.
Google Play Store is going to start adding a small amount of security metadata on top of each APK starting early next year. This will help verify app authenticity by proving that the app was indeed distributed through the Play Store.
Just because Google is making support for 64-bit code mandatory doesn’t mean that all apps will now be faster and more powerful. They will, however, be more polished.
Filed in . Read more about Android, Apps and Google. Source: android-developers.googleblog