Smart updates from Google Play now live
For those watching their mobile data consumption, the need to re-download an entire APK simply to update an app with incremental features and bug fixes can be a real drag, especially for larger-sized files. Back at Google I/O, a new smart updates feature was teased that would see Android handsets download only the portions of code that have changed between app versions. These incremental downloads to go along with incremental app updates went live yesterday when Google updated the Play Store to version 3.8.15.
Though the launch appears tied to the release of the latest version of the apps marketplace, users with older versions should still be able to take advantage of smart app updates, as it appears the changes occurred server-side and not on the actual device.
[via AndroidPolice]