Updating your apps is a hassle, so is finding the right app to do specific things you want for your Android or iOS machines. We live in an age where there is an app for everything, and it all started with the iPhone and then later expanded by Google’s Android ecosystem. To think that we almost do not get ecosystem with open-sourced apps is an odd one today.
Android’s foray into the app ecosystem game marks the start of a war between iOS and Android. The war of the app store, we call it. Who had better app support, who had better apps, and who had the biggest app store? We have reached a breaking point, however.
The world today, while still revolves around apps, cares more about the quality of contents each app delivers than how many apps you have on your smartphone. I, for one, want as little apps as possible on my smartphone but enough apps to perform everything I need from my smartphone. We do not need a million apps to do a million things. We want 10 apps that does 1,000 things well, and that is a problem for the app stores with millions upon millions of apps.
While choices are good, Google deems that not all choices may be suitable for users. Of course, apps need to comply to Google’s security guidelines that changes with every new iteration of Android. That also means that apps that are on the Play Store should be updated to match the new security standards set by Google.
The problem is, while that is something that should be, it is not how it is in the current app stores. There are millions of apps in the ecosystem that has gone silent for years. These apps do not get updated and yet they still sit in the App Store. Granted, there are plenty of apps like these that are still being used by users. Developers of the app could have either given up on the project or have closed shop for a while. They still pose security risks for Android though.
In that case, Google is taking a step up in preventing users from downloading or coming across apps that have not been updated for longer than at least one generation of Android. That also means that if the apps on Google Play Store have not been updated for Android 11 currently, they app will be taken down from the Play Store, even if the ratings for the apps are high. When we say take down, they are not completely removed from the app store, more like downranked. If the app has not been updated for more than two generations, Play Store will not allow the app to be installed on your device at all.
This system is completely dependent on the update cycle and age of your smartphone or tablet as well though. For example, if your device is still on Android 9, you will still be able to see apps that have been updated for Android 9, even if the said app has not been updated for Android 11 or Android 12. Once you update your device to Android 11 or 12 though, you may not see the app on the Play Store. However, if you already have the said app on your device, it will note affect your experience with the app at all. It will only affect new users to the said app.
The changes that are teased by Google is just that for now, a tease. It is expected that changes on the Play Store will start taking place on the 1st of November 2022 onward. It does give some time for developers who has not updated their apps for a year or two to prepare and update their apps before the implementation date. While it may seem odd that Google may be phasing out some of the higher rated apps just because they are old, it is also a good security measure for Android users with better compliance. It could also help new apps shine and get into the spotlight a little bit.