Until now, Android applications have had to meet a strict 50MB size limit but Google just increased this once puny 50MB limit to 4GB, Tweak Town reports.
Google also advise that the size of an APK file will still be limited to 50MB to ensure secure on-device storage, but users can now attach expansion files to their APK.
Details on this are: Each app can have two expansion files, each one up to 2GB, in whatever format the user chooses; Android Market will host the files to save the hassle and cost of file serving; Users will see the total size of the app and all of the downloads before they install/purchase.
Google also state that on newer devices, when the user downloads an app from the Android Market, the expansion files will be downloaded automatically, and that the refund period won't start until the entire download completes. This is great for people with slower net connections, where it could take them a few hours to download a 1-4GB file, and in that time, the refund period could run out, the report says.
On older devices, the app will download the expansion files the first time it runs, which is done through a downloader library which Google have provided on their Android Developers blog.
