Android apps must have 64-bit support by August 2019: Google

Google Play Store has updated its guidelines for Android app developers to improve app security and performance.

“In anticipation of future Android devices that support 64-bit code only, the Play Console will require that new apps and app updates are able to run on devices without 32-bit support”.

The latest version of the app is now on Play Store is 2.0.7. This minimum API level will increase “within one year following each Android dessert release” from then on. This means, developers will need to submit apps that are 64-bit. So, an app that is targeted at API 23 (Marshmallow) or higher will have granular permission control in the system.

Correction: A previous version of this article said Google would no longer support existing 32-bit apps. This change will only affect the apps that run native code and the apps without any native code will not be affected. In Android Marshmallow and newer, users aren’t notified about which permissions are being used by apps in the background. It will also encourage developers to support numerous power-saving and security features added along the way. In November, updates for existing apps will also need to be targeted for Oreo. Unless, of course, they were specifically banking on older Android vulnerabilities and functionality to do their own magic. There are also no details about how flexible the limits will be. This is in large part for security reasons, because API behavior changes advance the security and privacy protections of Android, Google says.

Company said that 64-bit code typically offers significantly better performance, with additional registers and new instructions, for apps that use native libraries.

Enforcement of the 64-bit requirement won’t go into effect until August 2019.

Apps that aren’t receiving updates will be left alone, at least for now. Starting in August 2018, all new apps will be required to target API level 26, which corresponds to Android 8.0. As any Nvidia Shield TV user will tell you, this isn’t the first time Prime Video has been made available for Android TV-powered devices, but we’ve never actually seen a listing for the app on the Play Store itself. This will be rolling out in early 2018.