For all that’s worth, storage has been a concern on smartphones ever since most phones have switched to non-expandable storage. Turns out Google has finally acknowledged this grim issue and with that, the upcoming Android 15 will get a space-saving ‘App Archiving’ feature baked in that should eliminate the storage crunch problems on your Android phones.
This comes from Mishaal Rahman who got his hands on an upcoming Android 15 feature called ‘App Archiving’. Once enabled, this feature allows users to archive an app without deleting the entire app from their phones. Turns out all the data remains intact along with the account login once a user retrieves an archive app.
For the initiated, the feature works by stripping the app to its base APK or the download file. Rahman showed a demo with Uber’s app weighing at 400MB that was stripped down to ~18MB after archiving and thus, freeing up a considerable space when you need it.
Upon retrieving which is by clicking on the app icon, the app is reinstalled from the Google Play Store. However, the magic happened when Rahman showed how the app was able to bring up all the data and account login before he archived the app.
It means once you archive and retrieve an app, there’s no data lost which is a concern if you uninstall and reinstall an app entirely. Turns out the feature is currently tied up with the Google Play Store, however, reports suggest it will soon be baked in at the OS level. For the uninitiated, it means users on their Android phones will be able to use the feature for apps downloaded even from alternate Android app stores such as Galaxy Store on Samsung devices.
Android 15 is slated to arrive officially at the Google I/O 2024 on May 14. You can keep an eye on SmartPrix for real-time coverage.
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