Google Play Store continues to grow to meet the needs and demands of Android users and developers. Many of the improvements depend on automated systems supported by AI and machine learning, especially in application screening for malware or prohibited content. However, there are times when changes require developers to make changes in the way they write and distribute their applications. One of the most disturbing changes will come in August when the Google Play Store turns to the application bundle instead of the APKS as a standard package format, changes that will affect not only developers but also Android users, hopefully getting better.
What and why application bundles
Short for Android packages, APKs has long been the standard android package format for applications and games. More analog with jar archive java (and, in fact, the extension), apk designed to bundle all that need to be installed applications on the device, from code to assets such as images and sounds, some of which will have different versions for various types and size of the device , However, as an Android ecosystem grows so many things that need to be packaged in the apk to even function.
However, not a good scale apk for Android and Google’s growth must be completed for larger applications, especially games that sometimes need gigabyte additional data. The solution comes in the form of obb that needs to be downloaded before you can start playing games or using the application. This is a problem that the Android application bundle is promised to solve, and while changes must be transparent to users, they must remain very visible.
Android application bundle, which can be abbreviated as AABS, will change the way Android application is packaged and, more importantly, sent. One of the most direct differences is that there will be no more need for one apk containing everything for all types of Android devices, the meaning of package size must be smaller and the download time must be faster. In fact, the application bundle requires that the application should not be more than 150MB.
New way to give the same thing
For applications that require more than 150MB, the application bundle introduces new features to replace obb called Play Asset Delivery. Using better data compression and dynamic shipping strategy, this PAD system promises faster downloads for non-code assets too, maybe even when playing games. The future updates can also be smaller because bearings will not contain all new assets but only what changes between different versions of assets, A.K.A. Their delta. Travel assets are also equipped with security benefits because assets are stored and downloaded from Google Play rather than some CDN hosting provided by the developers themselves.
Another new feature activated by bundle Android applications that is not possible with APKs is the Shipping Play feature. This expands the concept of bundle applications that only contains parts of the application needed on certain devices but focuses on the features needed to actually start using the application as soon as possible. The idea is that it will allow users to immediately use the application only a few seconds after installing it, delaying downloading other parts of the application for later.
Android users do not need to do anything in the end to benefit from this change, even though the application developer must carry out a heavy appointment for their part. Fortunately for them, the Google Play Store Android application bundle requirements, which are effective in August, only applies to new applications sent to the App Store. Of course, developers can voluntarily adopt the application bundle if they want to improve the experience for users.
Catch: this is the world of Google
It certainly sounds good, at least for users, but it comes with a smooth fine print. All of these features are only available on the Google Play Store, which sounds like no-brainer but has important implications for some Android developers. Unlike the APK, the Android application bundle cannot be outside Google Play and cannot be distributed outside. This means that the developer switching from the APK to the application bundle can no longer provide the exact package or experience on other application sources unless they choose to maintain a separate apk version. This naturally places a third-party application store in a less profitable position, but Google is likely to play the security of Play Store as the main reason to avoid these sources