Google Play Store Now Allowing Users to Download Multiple Apps Simultaneously

Google Play Store is letting Android users download up to two new apps at the same time.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 29 April 2024 13:45 IST

Google Play Store Now Allowing Users to Download Multiple Apps Simultaneously

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Mika Baumeister

The Google Play Store feature is believed to be widely rolled out

Highlights

The feature is not available for app updates
If users add a third app, it will be pending till the first two are done
Android 15 is expected to add an NFC Wireless Charging feature

Google Play Store has silently rolled out a new feature that will make the lives of users a little easier. The Android's default app marketplace is now allowing users to download multiple new apps simultaneously, eliminating the need to wait to download apps one by one, which can be quite time-consuming especially if the size of the apps is large. However, there are some restrictions to the feature, and unfortunately, users will not be able to download 10-15 apps at the same time.

We, at Gadgets 360, found that the Google Play Store is allowing the download of two new apps at the same time. This means if you are installing two apps, they will download together and not one after the other. However, adding a third app sends it to the pending list, and it starts downloading when either of the two apps has been installed. Another noteworthy thing is that the feature is only available for fresh or new downloads. When updating an existing app, it still follows the queue system and downloads one by one.

Google Play Store's multiple app downloads

While it is not ideal given Apple's App Store can manage three simultaneous downloads at the same time, it is definitely an improvement over how Google has managed app downloads ever since the inception of the Play Store. Essentially, the new feature now adds downloads in batches of two. When users switch to a new phone and download a large number of apps together, this can potentially reduce the time taken to half.

However, it remains unclear why Google decided to keep the limit at two apps. One possible reason could be to ensure less data throttling as multiple parallel downloads can quickly eat up the network speed, resulting in all of the apps taking much longer to download than they would have one by one. Another reason, as suggested by a 9to5Google report, could be that the Android maker is testing out the feature and plans to increase the number of apps that can be simultaneously downloaded later.

Google has been busy at work given its annual developer conference Google I/O will be held on May 14 and the company is expected to unveil Android 15 during the keynote session. As per a report, one of the new features the tech giant could add is NFC Wireless Charging that would allow users to charge devices that do not have an in-built wireless charging solution, but come with NFC support.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Google, Google Play Store, Android

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More