32-bit Apps Are Becoming History: Will Your Phone Be Cut Off?

32-bit Apps Are Becoming History: Will Your Phone Be Cut Off?In recent years, some users have encountered a message when installing apps on their new phones: "This software package is a 32-bit version and may be incompatible with your device. If you continue to install, you may experience lag, increased power consumption, crashes, or other issues

32-bit Apps Are Becoming History: Will Your Phone Be Cut Off?

In recent years, some users have encountered a message when installing apps on their new phones: "This software package is a 32-bit version and may be incompatible with your device. If you continue to install, you may experience lag, increased power consumption, crashes, or other issues." This is caused by compatibility problems between 64-bit processors and 32-bit apps. So, what are 32-bit apps? Will 32-bit apps on phones still work in the future? Will older phones have trouble downloading apps? This article will answer these questions.

32-bit Apps: Former Glory and Inevitable Elimination

32-bit apps are applications that run on 32-bit operating systems and CPUs. They use 32-bit data length and instruction sets. Compared to 16-bit apps, 32-bit apps experienced a significant performance upgrade but also have their limitations and drawbacks. The most obvious is their limited memory addressing capability, typically limited to a maximum of 4GB of memory. This makes them suitable only for simple apps that don't require extensive data processing or memory space.

To overcome this limitation, current operating systems and applications are gradually migrating to 64-bit architecture. 64-bit architecture offers better memory management and multitasking capabilities, along with enhanced security, smoothness, and stability.

Advantages of 64-bit Apps: Faster, More Stable, More Energy-Efficient

MediaTek conducted thorough comparative tests. On the Dimensity 9000 platform, the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the same app showed significant differences in cold boot speed alone. For example, a certain video app's 32-bit cold boot speed was 1.983 seconds, while the 64-bit version took only 0.7 seconds, a difference of 63.5%. Even for the e-commerce app with the smallest difference, the 64-bit version was 13.4% faster in cold boot compared to the 32-bit version.

The comparative tests clearly demonstrate the superiority of 64-bit apps: "faster and more stable." It's no wonder that chip and phone manufacturers are eager to eliminate 32-bit apps. They are considered a "drag" on the industry.

Actions by Chip and Phone Manufacturers: Fully Promoting 64-bit Apps

Starting in the second half of 2021, all models based on the new ARM CPU architecture have had compatibility issues with 32-bit apps at the core level. This is because the new Cortex-X2 super core and Cortex-A510 small core have completely abandoned support for 32-bit software, leaving only the Cortex-A710 large core that can support 32-bit software.

This means that on all processors based on the ARMv9 instruction set, 32-bit software will be forcefully "locked" to run on the large core. The super core and the small core responsible for low-load tasks will be completely "idle," severely affecting the performance and efficiency of 32-bit apps, potentially leading to increased power consumption, app crashes, and other issues.

To avoid this situation, phone manufacturers naturally don't want their latest flagship processors to fall behind in terms of user experience compared to mid-range processors. Therefore, they are pushing for the complete migration of Android apps to 64-bit.

At the end of 2021, Huawei sent out an email notification to developers announcing the promotion of 64-bit versions of apps. From February 2022, new apps and games uploaded to the Huawei AppGallery must include 64-bit versions. In September of the same year, Huawei AppGallery stopped accepting apps with 32-bit versions.

In April 2022, the Golden Alliance members OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi jointly announced that they would no longer allow the separate uploading of 32-bit app packages, but would allow developers to upload 64-bit & 32-bit compatible packages. This is because promoting 64-bit apps is a gradual process.

Recently, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi have announced that they will remove apps from their app stores that only support 32-bit. According to reports, as of August 23, the 64-bit app compatibility rate in the app stores of OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Lenovo has reached over 99.29%. However, around 4,000 key apps affecting users' daily lives have not yet been adapted.

Phone Manufacturers "Thoughtfulness": Using Software Technology to Compensate for Hardware Deficiencies

Based on the removal announcements, manufacturers' intention is to urge developers to adapt to 64-bit apps as soon as possible. Users don't need to worry about phone manufacturers "cutting off" access to 32-bit apps on their phones.

If you want to know which apps on your phone are still using 32-bit, you can use a simple app called AppChecker to find out. Open the app and click on the menu button in the upper right corner of the app interface to select "Sort by CPU architecture." The app will then categorize all the software on your phone into 32-bit and 64-bit.

Most developers are actively adapting to 64-bit, and 64-bit apps will become the mainstream in the future.

Android vs. Apple: Differences in the 64-bit Path

In fact, Apple had already mandated that all iOS apps must support 64-bit in 2015 and completely abandoned support for 32-bit in iOS 11.

However, the Android world is more complex. It supports sideloading and lacks a unified app distribution channel with strong developer constraints like the App Store. This has resulted in slower adaptation. It wasn't until this year, with Android 15, that Google announced the complete elimination of 32-bit apps.

It's worth noting that Google had already transitioned to 64-bit at the system level with Android 5.0, released in 2014. The Snapdragon 410, released in 2013, was also a 64-bit processor. In other words, even if you are using an older phone from several years ago, there's no need to worry about the phone "not supporting 64-bit software" because the hardware is already 64-bit.

The Dilemma of Niche Apps: Abandoned "Islands"

However, while some developers are willing to adapt to 64-bit, some niche software companies are not. If you encounter the latter, you may face a situation where you desperately need a certain app but it is unusable on your phone after downloading.

Fortunately, phone manufacturers are thoughtful and have used software technology to compensate for the lack of hardware support for running 32-bit apps. For example, Xiaomi has built-in a 32-bit translator in its Pengpai OS system to allow users to seamlessly run 32-bit apps on their new devices. It is expected that mainstream phone manufacturers will adopt similar solutions to support those niche, unmaintained third-party 32-bit apps.

However, there are exceptions. For example, Meizu, using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, a pure 64-bit processor, has abandoned native support for 32-bit. Meizu has not yet provided solutions like built-in translators, and they are only urging developers to upgrade to 64-bit.

Some Meizu 21 users have complained that they are unable to install 32-bit apps required by their superiors, forcing them to continue using their old phones. Other Meizu 21 users have stated that after switching to a new phone, they were left with only 150 of their original 165 apps. The most critical app that was lost was an internal instant messaging application from their company, which requires payment to reinstall, causing considerable inconvenience.

Conclusion: 64-bit Apps Are Essential, Manufacturers Need to Provide Transition Solutions

Currently, many commonly used or essential Android apps remain stuck in 32-bit versions. As the mobile industry vigorously pushes for 64-bit, phone manufacturers need to implement transition solutions to ensure user experience continuity and satisfaction.

The elimination of 32-bit apps is an inevitable trend. 64-bit apps will bring smoother, more powerful performance and longer battery life. It also means that Android will become even stronger in the future. With the joint efforts of manufacturers and developers, this will mark the beginning of an upgraded user experience.