What you should know
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- App Archiving is a new feature coming to Android 15 that allows users to archive apps instead of uninstalling them, saving space while retaining the app’s data and settings.
- The feature, initially a Google Play Store feature, will be integrated at the OS level with Android 15, allowing for both manual and automatic archiving of apps.
- Archiving an app significantly reduces its storage footprint (e.g., the Uber app’s size was reduced by 95.4% in a demonstration) and fully restoring the app retains user data and login status.
- Android 15 will introduce an option to automatically archive apps that are infrequently used, removing permissions, deleting temporary files, halting notifications, and archiving the app to free up space.
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Full Story
Oh, boy, Google’s at it again with something pretty neat for Android 15. It’s called App Archiving. Mishaal Rahman, over at Android Authority, spilled the beans on this one. So, here’s the scoop: imagine you’re juggling apps and photos, and you just need that extra bit of space. Traditional wisdom says, “Uninstall something!” But, with App Archiving, it’s like hitting the pause button on an app instead of booting it out the door. You won’t have to go through the hassle of setting it up all over again. Handy, right?
Now, for the nitty-gritty. Currently, this magic trick is a Google Play Store exclusive. But hold your horses, because Android 15 is about to change the game. It’s bringing App Archiving right into the OS’s heart. Rahman, digging through an Android 14 QPR2 beta update, stumbled upon this gem. He found these “Archive” and “Restore” buttons lurking in the settings app. And guess what? By the time Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2 rolled around, Rahman had the whole app archiving feature up and running.
Let’s paint a picture here. Rahman’s got this video, right? And in it, he’s messing around with the Uber app, which is hogging 387MB of precious space. With a tap on “Archive,” boom, it slims down to a mere 17.64MB. That’s a whopping 95.4% of space saved! And when he hits “Restore,” it’s like nothing ever happened. The app is back, he’s still logged in, and not a single byte of data was lost in the process.
But wait, there’s more! Android 15 is planning to take things up a notch. It’s not just about manually archiving apps anymore. If you’ve got an app collecting dust, Android will step in and archive it for you. Just flip the switch on “manage app if unused” in the App Info Page. Android will then strip the app of its permissions, clean out the temp files, mute the notifications, and tuck it away into archive land if it’s been sitting idle for too long.
Imagine this: your phone’s storage is bursting at the seams. Suddenly, a message pops up, courtesy of Android 15. It’s like your phone’s telling you, “Don’t worry, I got this.” While Rahman managed to get a sneak peek of this feature in the latest Android 14 QPR beta, he’s hinting that we shouldn’t hold our breath for it until Android 15 officially hits the scene.
So, there you have it. Google’s cooking up some real convenience with App Archiving. It’s like giving your apps a little vacation instead of sending them off for good. And with Android 15, it’s all about making your phone’s life (and yours) a bit easier. Can’t wait to see it in action!
