We’re sure all of us using smartphones have come across an instance where you want to use an app, but it suddenly starts to update or prompts you that it requires an update and you have to wait for the update to complete before you can use it. Sometimes the update process is fast, and sometimes it can be inconvenient especially if you need to use the app now.However the good news is that Google is hoping to change that and has announced some changes they’ll be making to Android, one of which includes how an app can be updated in the background while the user is using the app, although Google notes that developers can choose which method they want to use.
According to Google, “You’ll have two options with this API; the first is a full-screen experience for critical updates when you expect the user to wait for the update to be applied immediately. The second option is a flexible update, which means the user can keep using the app while the update is downloaded. You can completely customize the update flow so it feels like part of your app.”
Unfortunately for now the In-app Updates API will only be available to certain Android developers who are early access partners, but Google expects that the API should eventually be made available to all developers in the future.