Just like computers, when smartphones were first launched, apps in general weren’t that big. However as our phones got more capable, app install sizes got larger to accommodate all the necessary assets, such as higher-res audio files, higher-res textures for graphics in games, and so on.
This has resulted in our phones needing more space with every generation. However for those who have a hard time managing storage or wish that apps weren’t as big, Google has got you covered. The company has announced an update to Google Play in which they are making app installs smaller.
Basically what they’ve done is that they’ve made it so that whenever apps are installed, only the core essentials that an app needs to function are installed, thus removing any extra unnecessary files that could otherwise impact the size of the install negatively. This is part of a new publishing format that Google calls the “Android App Bundle”.
According to Google, “When a user installs the app, Play delivers the base split APK (all the code that’s common for every device), the language split APKs (for the languages the user speaks), and the device configuration split APKs (for the device’s screen size and the CPU architecture). This means the device gets just what it needs without wasted space.” Exactly how much storage is saved will vary from app to app, with some developers claiming to see 23% in size savings.
Filed in . Read more about Android, Apps, Google and Google Play.