AssembleDebug / Android Authority
TL;DR
HONOR has announced a Smart Game Update Feature for its devices in China.
The new feature automatically detects and downloads updated game files overnight while your phone is charging.
We really hope the Play Store gains a similar feature, as it would address a major pain point for many mobile gamers.
Mobile games have ballooned in size over the years, and it’s not uncommon to be greeted by large updates if you haven’t opened a game in a while. This isn’t great, as you’re forced to wait a while before starting a play session. Fortunately, one mobile manufacturer has come up with a smart solution, and I really hope the Google Play Store follows suit.
HONOR has announced (h/t: IT Home) that it now offers a so-called Smart Game Update Feature to make mobile game updates less of a chore.
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“After enabling this feature, the system will automatically detect and download updated game resource packages during off-peak hours at night, allowing you to open games faster,” an HONOR game development engineer explained on Weibo. The game files will be downloaded at night when your phone is charging, the screen is off, and the device is connected to Wi-Fi.
A follow-up comment by the engineer suggests that this feature might be restricted to subsequent game package updates rather than initial game file downloads. That would be a shame, as some games require a huge download after the app is launched for the first time.
The Smart Game Update Feature seems to be restricted to HONOR’s app store in China. Furthermore, a machine-translated screenshot (seen above) also suggests that only a few games currently support this feature
In any event, I’d love to see Google adopt this feature via the Play Store, as it would address a long-standing pain point for mobile gamers. I find this particularly annoying for online games, such as War Thunder Mobile, which frequently receive updates every few days. It’s also an inconvenience if you haven’t played an online multiplayer game in a while, as you’re forced to endure a big download when you eventually decide to return. So our fingers are crossed that this comes to global Android users sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, I hope any future implementation also tackles the issue of initial game file downloads. This is especially irksome for a game like Genshin Impact, which forces users to download over 35GB of files after first launching the app.
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