Next year, the Play Store will stop serving 32-bit apps to 64-bit Android devices. Google is now working on a 64-bit version of Chrome for Android that will provide some performance improvements.
As noted by Android Police, Chrome 85 — currently in the Dev channel — identifies itself as 64-bit. Version 83 and 84 (for most users) is still 32-bit as seen in the first line of the chrome://version page.
One Googler in a bug report this week mentioned that the company is targeting Chrome 85 to move to 64-bit for Android 10 and above. Android has supported 64-bit CPUs since 5.0 Lollipop in 2014, while almost all newly-released devices have 64-bit chips.
In encouraging third-party developers to get ready for the Play Store’s 64-bit requirement, Google touts performance improvements that allow for “faster, richer experiences,” and how it “sets you up for devices with 64-bit only hardware.”
Meanwhile, browser benchmarks confirm a modest improvement between 32-bit and 64-bit Chrome, though real-world usage ramifications might vary. JetStream 2’s JavaScript and WebAssembly suite returns a score of 40.487 on Chrome 83 (32-bit) and 42.376 on Chrome 85 (64-bit). [Both tests were conducted on a Pixel 3 running Android 11 Beta 1.5.]
Chrome 85 for Android is currently set to launch in late August. Google has yet to officially note that 64-bit support is coming in that release, and it could always be pushed to a later version.
More about Chrome:
- Google Chrome experiments with making ‘Reopen closed tab’ almost instant
- Chrome OS preparing Steam gaming support, starting with 10th Gen Intel Chromebooks
- Chrome for Android preps new bottom-bar tab switcher after killing ‘Duet’
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