App updates question...

[obidos]

hi everyone - just curious if when I'm updating apps, am I re-downloading the entire size of the app file?

for example, if I get an update for Fieldrunners HD, am I downloading the entire 37MB total each time?

 

[Mikey D_PhD]

The short answer is yes. It should show you the total amount of the download in the progress bar as its downloading.

Thunderbolt Ho!

 

[K_Daddy]

In the play store settings you can set it to update over wifi only of that's what you're worried about.

 

[MojaveHigh]

Speaking of updating apps, it really bothers me that in the play store app, to update one app, you have to click three times (the app title line, then update, then Accept & download), but to update more than one app, you click only once (update 4, for instance). Why can't there be an "Update 1" button if only one app needs updating?

 

[obidos]

The short answer is yes. It should show you the total amount of the download in the progress bar as its downloading.

Thunderbolt Ho!

that is what I should have mentioned - the progress bar is what prompted me to ask. I thought that the update would only d/l just the updated data not the entire file.

does the system dump the unneeded data? It seems crazy to have say 50 apps totaling 1GB and having to d/l another 1GB to update them all.

 

[Mikey D_PhD]

that is what I should have mentioned - the progress bar is what prompted me to ask. I thought that the update would only d/l just the updated data not the entire file.

does the system dump the unneeded data? It seems crazy to have say 50 apps totaling 1GB and having to d/l another 1GB to update them all.

As far as my knowledge goes, the answer to your question is yes, again. Unlike in other systems, updates for apps don't just apply patches or updated code to the original code (like, say, in Windows). The app is updated by the dev via adding or changing code in the original and then the entire updated code or app is available for download. While I agree that having to re-download the all of the original information instead of a patch is a redundant way to do things, that is what we have in the Android system.

As far as having to re-download 1GB of apps because of updates, if you are talking about data and data caps, you'd have a better shot at winning the Powerball multiple times that having all of your apps get updated at the same time. The caveat to that is some of the newer games are going to be very sizable (some over 1GB), so updates to those would need to be done over WiFi (the same might be said when Google releases Maps as a standalone file that doesn't need a data connection to update, which they are planning to do).