Google Play managed to cut app sizes in half so you can keep more on your phone

Google Play’s director, Purnima Kochikar, decided to share some insights on how the app store has been improving over the recent months and what’s the company’s vision going forward.

One of the most notable improvements comes in the reduction of app sizes. Thanks to improved developer tools, the sizes of applications on the Play Store was reduced by up to 65%. Users with limited storage on their phones were now more willing to try different apps. This naturally led to an increase in installs and better retainability, which makes both publishers and Google happy.

Google puts a lot of effort in helping people find the app they need, including AI and machine learning, and it appears to be showing results. According to Kochikar, Play Store visits are up by 30% over the last 12 months.

User experience has been improved as well, with an up to 70% reduction in crash rates, again after Google delivered new tools to help developers optimize their software. Improved algorithms detect fraud, inappropriate content and malware with 99% accuracy, quite an achievement, considering that the systems must scan more than 50 billion apps a day to make sure no one is trying to break the rules.

One of the services that Google wants to bring to more developers is “Google Play Instant”. The function allows users to try out a game immediately, without having to install it on their devices. The "Try now" option is a quick way to see if the game will meet your expectations and if it's worth downloading. Play Instant is currently available for a small number of games, but Google is planning to include more developers in the upcoming months.

Google Play is becoming a more robust and streamlined platform, not an easy task with such a wide variety of devices that are running it, which is great news for Android and its users.

source: Android Developers Blog via Engadget