Google's improvements to Play enable new features for application bundles and more.



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There are so many ads on Google I / O that it is a bit difficult to track them all. While many sessions are for developers, many details can still affect users directly, or at least the indirect impacts can be quite obvious. This is where there are many topics in the What's New in Google Play session. Some of the news related to new announcements while others were recaps of recent launches or minor updates of ongoing projects. Anyway, everyone will see a lot of changes over the next few months, whether it's more varied lists for apps, (hopefully) fewer odd app disappears, and downloads and lighter installations.

Better communication with developers

The launch of the presentation was a promise to be more transparent about upcoming store and policy changes. This included a commitment to better guide change management and give application developers enough time to make the necessary adjustments. This comes in response to a controversial new policy that closes the door to SMS and phone approvals for many types of applications and only gives app developers about three months to do what they do. adjustments or be returned from the Play Store.

This is obviously very important for developers, but a large number of users have also encountered problems, the applications on which they have been removed from the store or having suddenly lost key features. Let's hope that situations like this do not hit as hard and so fast in the future.

Bundles and dynamic delivery leave the beta

Google has pushed developers to the application bundles since their announcement to I / O last year. This allows developers to create multiple modular elements of their applications, and then users only download the items needed by their device (processor architecture and display density) and their language, which can dramatically reduce download size and installation. Developers could also use it to separate features that only a small percentage of users would need, so the majority of users would not need to download data or waste from it. 39, storage space on unused code.

Bundles and dynamic provisioning of features officially left the beta. Since the announcement by I / O, new features enhance the experience of developers, including:

  • Conditional Installation – Developers can now select the components of their installed applications based on the location of a device and its hardware capabilities. This may allow you to omit features that are prohibited by law in some countries or simply require features that are not offered by a particular device.
  • New statistics in the reading console – It is now possible to see the size of the download, the size after installation and other details about the history of your application sets. There are also tips for additional ways to reduce the amount you ultimately send to users. There are also special reports that allow developers to compare the vital elements of their applications to some of their peers.
  • Signature Keys Upgrades: A new signature format is now available, allowing developers to "upgrade" their applications, which prevents malicious application developers from borrowing the identity of legitimate updates using malware.
  • Instant Apps – Developers can now create an instant app from the same code base of the App Bundle and treat it as a normal install if users decide to keep it.

To highlight some of these improvements, Google has introduced a short developer story with Netflix that explains how the company has reduced the size of its applications by about 33% when switching to the App Bundles. It is unclear whether this has really had a big impact when Netflix is ​​responsible for about 15% of global internet traffic, but that is not really about the story.

Sharing internal application

Squeezing all the features of the App Bundle, Google Play is also introducing a major new feature designed to make the task of the testers easier. A new feature called "internal application sharing" will allow developers to download a set and immediately generate a URL that can be shared with selected testers. When they visit the URL, they will be able to install this version of the code without any hassle. This should automatically avoid version code conflicts, signing keys and other types of validation steps that often interfere with the installation of test versions.

Updates in the application

App developers can now add a little code to their apps that checks the Play Store to see if an update is available and lets users know if the new version is required. In cases where it is possible to delay an update, a dialog box can make the recommendation and users are free to ignore it for the moment or download the latest version immediately.

Ratings and Answers

You may have already seen the news that Google Play will recalculate ratings later this year, in order to better represent the current status of apps rather than an average for life. In addition to this, the console will also help developers identify critics who deserve special attention and even generate suggested answers to get things done.

Deeper Customizations for Play Store Lists

The content on your Play Store page is becoming more customizable this year. First, Google launches two additional features for pre-registration that will allow developers to create special lists for pre-registered users and offer special rewards when people join their company sooner.

Google is also launching a new advance access program that allows developers to customize lists based on the state of the app's installation. In simple terms, it will be possible to create different versions of a list depending on whether an application has ever been installed, that it is currently installed or that it is installed. was installed in the past but was uninstalled later. If you wish to participate in the advance access program, register here.

  • Source:
  • Google,
  • Google I / O Session: What's new in Google Play

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