Enlarge / The Pixel 7 in a lovely “hazel” color. (credit: Google)
Here’s a surprise: We knew Android was getting ready to drop 32-bit app support sometime soon, with the upcoming Pixel Tablet receiving code check-ins to prep it for a 64-bit only version of Android. What nobody noticed was that the Pixel 7 is also dropping 64-bit app support, so its release yesterday is taking a big step toward Android’s 64-bit-only future. Esper Senior Technical Editor Mishaal Rahman figured out the ins and outs of how this is going to work.
It sounds like the Pixel Tablet will still be the first to run a 64-bit-only version of Android, and the Pixel 7 is only taking a half step toward that milestone. Thirty-two-bit apps are disabled via a software flag, but it’s not running a 64-bit-only build of Android yet. Trying to install a 32-bit app will display an error message that says: “App not installed as app isn’t compatible with your phone.”
It sounds like the OS is not quite ready for 64-bit-only builds, since some system libraries are still 32-bit, but Google is getting there. Plus, starting out with an artificial software flag is a good test case. Google can see exactly how many problems 64-bit only will cause and could easily turn the flag off in a software update if things get too bad.
