Google Play Store may be developing a new Download Manager which keeps a track and shows the recently downloaded apps on an Android device, according to a report. The feature was discovered during an APK teardown of a particular app version of the Google Play Store and is speculated to present Android users with a list that details the apps they have recently downloaded. When users exit the manager, it reportedly highlights apps that have been downloaded but not yet opened.
Download Manager on Google Play Store
According to an Android Authority report, the Download Manager on the Google Play Store will appear automatically once the installation of an app has been triggered. It was spotted following an APK teardown of the Google Play Store version 42.9.16-31, which contains several strings referencing the Download Manager. It also references the sorting of downloads based on install time and schedule time.
The report suggests that when a user opens the app mentioned in the list, it is exited and a screen showing the downloaded but unopened apps appears. Additionally, they will also reportedly see a count of the downloaded apps and games as a badge on the top of the app details page.
The Download Manager on Google Play Store was manually enabled during the APK teardown and is not available to the general public. Features discovered during the aforementioned process are usually for developer testing and an ambiguity remains over their public rollout.
Other New Features
In recent months, Google Play Store has rolled out several new features. This includes the ability to download up to three apps or app updates simultaneously. Google also made a big change recently by putting a stop to the generation of fat Android Application Packages (APKs) and prioritising its Android App Bundle (AAB) instead.
This potentially makes the process of sideloading apps a bit more tedious as users now require an APK bundle installer to be installed beforehand.
