Video: Google Play Store “Smart App Updates” are now in effect

As more details start to roll in about last night’s leaked Google Play Store update, it looks like another great feature we’ve anxiously waited for has now been “turned on” by the search engine giant.

First, we found out gift cards are definitely headed to the Play Store, now you can say hello to Smart App Updates!

We heard about Smart App Updates back at Google I/O, but we haven’t actually seen them in action until today. Our friends from Android Police not only reported about the new feature, but they shot a couple of videos of them in action, as well. We’ll get to those in just a minute.

First, what are Smart App Updates?

Up until now, when a new version of an app or game was released on Google Play, users were forced to download the app in full. Not much of a problem when we’re talking about a smaller app, but with some of today’s newer offerings, download sizes have grown to enormous proportions.

Take, for example, the game Dead Trigger. Each time a new update was rolled out (which has already happened a few times since the game was first released), you’d have to download 100MB+ with each new update. Basically meaning, without a WiFi connection, you’re pretty much screwed, unless you have an TRULY unlimited data plan — a rarity here in the United States.

Now, rather than having to download the entire APK file, users only download the incremental, or delta, data as updates are released. As AP points out, users only have to download 3 out of 13MB to get today’s updated version of Instagram (we haven’t posted about that one yet, but we will).

If you haven’t already grabbed the latest Google Play Store APK, you can do so by clicking HERE. Then, check out these two videos that show this amazing new feature in action.

Source: Android Police