Ways in which google is changing PLAY STORE.

GOOGLE PLAY STORE IS COMING UP WITH A CHANGE

THIS NEW YEAR GOOGLE PLAY STORE IS COMING WITH A CHANGE!!Google has started giving app developers a heads-up notice on making 64-bit app version mandatory on Google Play by 2019. It is worth adding that Android got the support for 64-bit apps back when the search giant launched Android 5.0 Lollipop OS. But until now, it was not necessary for developers to create a 64-bit app version of their 32-bit apps.

Edward Cunningham, product manager, Android on Google Developers blog post listed three changes designed to make apps more secure and better.

In the first point, he writes that in the second half of 2018, Google Play would require "new apps and app updates target a recent Android API level." New apps would require these guidelines starting August 2018 while the existing apps should require new API levels by November 2018. "This is to ensure apps are built on the latest APIs optimized for security and performance," says Cunningham.

As for the 64-bit app versions, it has been mentioned that, "In August 2019, Play will require that new apps and app updates with native libraries provide 64-bit versions in addition to their 32-bit versions." This means that developers can still keep the 32-bit versions but they would have to require 64-bit versions as well.

Lastly, Google Play will be sending out a small amount of security metadata on top of each APK to authorise the app. This will be rolling out in early 2018. Developers are not required to do anything for this.

More details may be revealed during Google I/O 2018.

This announcement by Google comes months after Apple dropped the 32-bit app support in iOS 11. The company started requiring 64-bit code for iOS apps back in February 2015. The search gaint has been working hard on improving the Google Play experience for Android users. In August, it started ranking apps on Google Play based on their performance.