Android 15 app archiving is much more versatile than you might understand

Google after all rolled out the Android 15 replace to Pixel units as of late, finishing the just about month-and-a-half-long wait because it launched the working machine’s supply code. One specifically cool trick in Android 15 is app archiving. This characteristic frees up space for storing via taking out an app’s set up and brief information, but it surely doesn’t take away its knowledge, saving you from having to set it up once more sooner or later. App archiving isn’t unique to Android 15, as Google’s app retailer already helps it, however the characteristic is much less restrictive in Android 15 and works with all app distribution codecs — no longer simply app bundles.

Last yr, the Google Play Store rolled out an “auto-archiving” characteristic that mechanically archives apps you don’t regularly use. Google Play’s auto-archiving characteristic achieves a identical outcome as Android 15’s app archiving characteristic, however how it works is totally other below the hood. See, so as to make Google Play auto-archiving paintings with out OS-level improve, Google needed to make use of a suave trick: The corporate made use of the compartmentalized nature of the Android App Bundle layout that many builders use to distribute Android apps at the Google Play Store.

When builders add an Android App Bundle for distribution on Google Play, the Play Console mechanically generates the bottom APK, cut up APKs, and multi-APKs wanted for all configurations the app helps, but it surely additionally generates an extra “archived APK.” An archived APK is basically a trimmed-down model of the bottom APK that’s put in on units whilst you obtain many apps from Google Play. When the Google Play Store is going to archive an app, it installs the archived APK on best of the bottom APK record, which is conceivable for the reason that archived APK has the very same signature as the bottom APK.

Since the archived APK is nearly empty, save for the app’s authentic icon (with a cloud-download brand overlaid on best) and a few tiny quantity of code to ship the command to revive the app when the icon is tapped, it takes up a lot much less area. Plus, since most effective the bottom APK used to be overwritten, the app’s knowledge is saved intact, and the entire Play Store has to do to revive the app again to commonplace is redownload the bottom APK (and another essential splits).

To simplify issues for builders, Google determined to make the Play Store’s auto-archiving characteristic most effective paintings with Android apps allotted within the Android App Bundle layout, as a result of with the best way bundles are most often generated and signed, builders don’t need to do any further legwork to improve the characteristic. One of the principle the explanation why Google sought after to bake app archiving improve into the OS is so third-party app retail outlets can improve the characteristic. Most third-party app retail outlets don’t use app bundles, despite the fact that, which is why Google determined to make app archiving in Android 15 paintings with apps allotted as APKs, too.

The proven fact that Android 15’s app archiving characteristic works with common APKs isn’t discussed in Google’s documentation, but it surely’s simple to make sure. Instagram and Threads, two well-liked Android apps allotted within the APK layout, can each be archived in Android 15, as an example. When Android 15 archives an app like this, it doesn’t set up an “archived APK” on best of it. Instead, it totally deletes the app set up information however nonetheless treats the app adore it’s put in, so it sounds as if in the house display screen and in Settings. Android additionally retail outlets a replica of the app’s authentic icon in a personal knowledge listing which it then applies a filter out over and provides an overlay to make it transparent the app is archived.

The proven fact that app archiving in Android 15 works with all Android apps is superb information, and it’ll with a bit of luck spur third-party app retail outlets so as to add improve for the characteristic, simply as Google supposed. If you’re questioning the right way to use the brand new app archiving characteristic in Android 15, practice that hyperlink the place my colleague Rita El Khoury explains the whole thing.