Google Play Store introduces parallel download of Android apps

Android users rejoice! Google Play is finally rolling out a much-requested feature: parallel app downloads. This means you can download two apps at the same time, which greatly improves download efficiency, especially for users with powerful devices and fast internet connections.

The long-awaited multitasking is here: Google Play now allows simultaneous app downloads

In 2019, Google experimented with this functionality, but it was not widely implemented. Now it looks like this feature is getting a wider rollout, marking a significant improvement in the user experience.

Advantages of parallel downloads

Before, downloading apps from Google Play was done sequentially. This meant waiting for a large game to finish downloading before starting a smaller app. This inefficiency is no longer applicable. With parallel downloads, both downloads can start at the same time, making the most of your device’s processing power and internet bandwidth.

Current restrictions: Updates are not included

While parallel downloads are a big step forward, it’s important to note that this functionality currently excludes app updates. Updates continue to download one by one. The reasoning behind this may lie in the way updates work on Android. When an app uses App Bundles (a common practice today), updates download only the modified parts instead of the entire app. While this reduces the size of the download, it adds some processing time as the new parts must be integrated with the existing application. This process, especially for a large number of updates, can potentially strain the device’s resources, hence Google’s decision to support sequential updates.

A welcome improvement despite the limitations

Although it doesn’t include updates, being able to download two apps at the same time is a huge improvement for Android users. This long-awaited feature enables faster acquisition of multiple apps, streamlining the download process. You can easily check if your device has access to parallel downloads by checking Google Play notifications. If you see notifications of two downloads in progress, then congratulations, you’re experiencing the new functionality!

The advent of parallel downloads signifies Google’s commitment to improving the user experience on Play Shop. While app updates remain single-threaded for now, this update paves the way for further improvements to download management in the Android ecosystem.