Remember the frustrating days of having to wait for one app to finish updating before you can start the next one? Wait no more! Google Play Store has finally brought back a feature many of you have been waiting for for years: simultaneous app updates.
This much-awaited feature allows you to download and install updates for multiple apps at once, drastically reducing the time it takes to keep your apps up to date. Gone are the days of endless waits and tedious manual updates.
But why was this feature removed in the first place? The answer lies in the limitations of older smartphone technology. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, smartphone storage speeds were much slower, and downloading multiple apps simultaneously could strain the device's capabilities.
However, advances in technology have meant that modern smartphones now boast much faster storage speeds, thanks to technologies like UFS and NVMe, and this increased performance has paved the way for Google to reintroduce the simultaneous app updates feature.
Does your phone support multiple Play Store updates?
The availability of this Google Play Store feature will depend on the type of storage on your device, and it's unclear at this time what the minimum requirements are. Our guess is that your phone's storage should be at least UFS 3.1. Luckily, even older phones like the Pixel 6 come with UFS 3.1 storage, as do some recent mid-range phones, so most users should be able to take advantage of the multiple update/download feature. The ability to download multiple apps at once was first introduced earlier this year, but it was limited to installing new apps. However, Google has now expanded the feature to include app updates as well.
You can now download up to three app updates from the Play Store at the same time. Any additional app updates in the queue will be marked as “Pending.” This is a major improvement over the previous limitation of only being able to download one app update at a time.
Concurrent app updates is a welcome addition to the Play Store that not only saves time but also improves the overall user experience. By streamlining the app update process, Google has made it easier for users to keep their devices up to date and take advantage of the latest features and bug fixes.