In the coming months, Android app developers will see big changes. The well-known APK (Android Package) format is becoming a thing of the past, and it is being replaced by the Android App Bundle. This innovation will bring a number of important benefits for ordinary users.

The Android App Bundle format was introduced back in 2018 along with Android 9 (Pie). It is designed to make life easier for developers: they do not have to manually optimize their software for a large number of different devices - this process will be fully automated on the Google Play side. So, during the download of the application, not all the code is downloaded to the device, including the extra code, but only the really necessary parts for the normal operation of the program on a specific gadget. As a result, these apps take 15% less space on average and install faster.

According to Google requirements, from August of this year, all new applications uploaded to Google Play must be in AAB format. According to the company, today more than a million programs have switched to this format, including most of the 1000 most popular. Among the most famous are Twitter, Netflix, Duolingo, the Adobe app, and Gameloft games.

In addition, since August, OBB files are being replaced by Play Asset Delivery or Play Feature Delivery. They work on the same principle as the Android App Bundle, allowing you to optimize the data downloaded to devices during the installation of large games.

You can read more about all the upcoming changes on the Google blog.