Here’s how Google plans to save storage in smart TVs, streaming devices – Times of India

Google has reportedly announced that Android and Google TV devices will be requiring Android App Bundles (AABs) that support archiving starting from May 2023. According to a report by 9to5Google, the tech giant has stated apps that don’t switch from Android Package Kits (APKs) to app bundles will be hidden from the TV surface within six months. Google has also advised developers who are working on a new TV app to use Android App Bundles from the beginning. The six-month transition span might seem very short, but the company estimates that an engineer will need “about 3 days to migrate an existing TV app (in most cases) from an APK to app bundles.”
What are Android App Bundles
To replace APKs as the standard app publishing format on the Play Store, Google introduced app bundles at the I/O event held in 2018. Android App Bundles are supported by Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and above and several TV apps have been developed with this version of the operating system. However, Google TV was launched later in 2020 on Android 10.

Importance of Android App Bundles
Google claims that these app bundles can optimise for separate devices and can save an average of 20% in app size compared to its “equivalent APK counterpart”. The built-in archive feature also helps Android App Bundles to reclaim up to 60% of the app’s storage.
The archiving feature is mandatory for Android and Google TV devices which is otherwise optional for smartphones. AABs supports Android on multiple form factors including — phones, watches, tablets and auto. Furthermore, it also helps developers to offer easier delivery and more security for the app.
Why Google is bringing these changes to Android, Google TV devices
As per the report, the available storage capacity in Android and Google TV devices is the major reason for this transition. Google has noted that smart TVs in 2022 ship with an average of 8GB storage whereas smartphones come out with 64GB.

Over the last few decades, TVs have transformed from simple channel-surfing appliances that came as big boxes to devices that offer on-demand content with multi-app experiences and look like a painting on the wall.
Google claims that over 10,000 apps are currently available on Android TV OS. However, the exponential growth of software hasn’t pushed TV makers to increase their storage capacity which turned out to be necessary for their smartphone counterparts.