The Google Play Store is getting a smart crowdsourcing update that should improve app and phone performance for everyone, whether they contribute or not.
9to5Google has discovered an official Google support page for something called “app install optimization” and, although the feature is not yet available, the site notes that references to it are included in the latest version of the software, suggesting that it is not very far.
According to the document, application installation optimization monitors user usage when the software is first installed, letting the company know which parts of a given application are most useful to the average Android owner. “This information is combined with data from other people who use the app to find trends and identify which parts of the app are most important to everyone,” explains the support document.
If you take something like YouTube as an example, the system can assess that most people use the app to consume video content and few use it to upload videos or stream live. In this case, the Google Play Store can prioritize the download of video playback elements and only provide extras when actively needed.
The benefit of this is, according to Google, threefold. First, the application installation time will be faster, as you are getting only the bits that most users really need to get up and running. Second, it should reduce the amount of time it takes to open and run applications, because less-used resources are not getting in the way. This, in turn, should “reduce the pressure on your device’s CPU, battery and storage”.
Google makes a point of highlighting that the optimization of the installation of the application does not collect any personal information and does not go beyond the application it is analyzing. At the same time, it will be possible to choose not to be monitored through the Play Store settings menu, says the support document.
Interestingly, disabling does not prevent you from taking advantage of broader surveillance of community applications. “If you disable application installation optimization, your applications can still benefit from data collected from others,” explains the support document. Although, of course, if everyone takes this approach, crowdsourcing data ceases to exist and the benefits disappear along with it.
Again, this feature is not currently active, so it is unclear how much impact it will have on the application’s performance. While those with new top-of-the-line Android phones may not notice the difference, it can be a game changer for those who are frustrated with low performance on low-cost devices.