Since 2021, Google has banned the use of APK files in the Google Play Store for mobile phones and tablets. The reason? It is a heavy and inefficient app installation format. Instead, developers have to use the AAB (App Bundle) format which only installs the minimum resources needed for applications to work on your mobile , thus saving a lot of storage space.
Of course, this Google regulation so far does not apply to applications for Android TV, which is why apps on televisions continue to be heavy. Luckily, this is about to change, as the big G has announced that the App Bundle format will also be mandatory for Android TV and Google TV apps . Thanks to this, apps will take up less space both on televisions and on streaming devices that use Google’s operating system, such as Chromecast with Google TV.
Android TV apps will take up 20% less space
Google has confirmed that, starting in May 2023, developers with apps on the Play Store for Android TV are required to use the AAB format when uploading their apps to the store . In this way, it will be possible to reduce the size of applications by 20% on average and, with application archiving support, up to 60% of an application’s storage can be recovered . Considering how little storage space comes with Smart TVs and streaming devices, this is great news!
The problem of lack of storage space will not occur as often and your TV will slow down less . Apps that are not converted to AAB format by May 2023 will be removed from the list of apps displayed by the Google Play Store on Android TV, although they will not be removed entirely. Either way , developers have 6 months to make the transition and Google says that this process only takes 3 days, so surely no apps will be affected by this change.
Hopefully this measure will improve the performance of Android TV devices and TVs, and fix the out of storage issues completely. By the way, as a user you won’t have to do anything at all to enjoy this improvement in the app format. Simply keep your Android TV up to date so you can access the latest news.
Source | Android Police
