The standard for TV and mobile apps has been the Android Package Kit (APK) for a long time. It is slowly being replaced by AAB (Android App Bundle), which allows for faster and smaller applications that save storage space and optimize performance.
Josh Wentz of Google TV’s Product Management team has revealed that starting May 2023, Google TV and Android TV will also require App Bundles. The company is giving developers six months notice to repackage their apps more lightly, though Wentz believes it could take around 3 days.
The main benefit of App Bundles is the approximately 20% smaller storage footprint, as the app uses only the resources it needs while the rest is stored. TV apps will also have an archive/unarchive button which would reclaim more app storage. Wentz said that over 10,000 apps are now available for the Android TV operating system, and the lack of storage drives users to uninstall apps, which is why their team is pushing for a switch.
The difference between Android TV and Google TV is that the former is the main TV product, found in Xiaomi TV sticks, as well as some Sony and Sharp TVs. The latter, however, is a software tier on top, infused with Google AI recommendations, based on personal usage, and making its way to new, modern TVs.
Start a new Thread