Google bringing peer-to-peer app updates to Play Store

Everyone of us has dozens of Android app installed on our smartphones and it is not a secret that app updates are one of the biggest data consumers. Even with Google’s Delta updates, just the sheer number of app updates each day can eat through the data balance of anyone with a limited plan. The application updates can be especially problematic for consumers living in countries where data is expensive. An upcoming Google Play Store feature may bring some respite to such users.

Google is reportedly gearing up to support peer-to-peer application updates in the Play Store. According to a report in Android Police, the blog found many references to peer-to-peer updates in the latest Play Store version code. Such a feature will allow the Android users to share application updates over an ad-hoc Wifi connection with other users. For example, if one of your friends or colleagues has updated an application that is also present on your phone, you will be able to get the update directly from this friend’s phone. This will not only save your data, but will also make app update faster than getting its over mobile data.

This is not all, Google may also allow the users to share complete applications with other users. This feature will only work with Play Verified P2P applications. It is unclear which of the Android apps will be Play Verified.

There is no word on when exactly the P2P app updates or P2P app installations will be launched. Google clearly has to figure out a lot of things to make this seamless, and it may require some sort of implementation from the app developers’ side.

As and when this become a reality, it will be a massive help to a lot of consumers in the developing and under-developed countries.