Apple TV Apps Size Limit Increased From 200MB to 4GB
- Updates
- January 17, 2017
Apple is well known for its premium built designs that cater to the need of the elitist smartphone users and casual handset owners alike. You can find an array of features that represent the device’s strong points, one of the best being the highly appreciated high quality display. However, as any good device, the secret lies in the perfect balance of hardware in software. In other words, a good device also comes with a good software to back it up.
That’s exactly what Apple did with its Apple TV platform as they brought out the tvOS operating system. When it comes to tvOS, Apple fans will identify that it suites Apple TV quite well, and that it makes the overall experience that much more enjoyable. There was also a detail Apple mentioned upon releasing tvOS that didn’t really bode well with any of its consumers. The detail in question was the app size limitation, which caused apps to not be able to exceed 200 MB in size. This limitation came off as too harsh and no one was really pleased about it.
For those that wanted their apps to be bigger, they were required to release an app that was compliant to the 200 MB limit and in addition come with supplementary data packages that would be uploaded to cloud. From there, they could be used in conjunction with the original app. According to Apple, these were referred to as “On-demand resources”.
The 200 MB limit is gone
Today however, it seems that Apple has completely changed its mind and is now allowing bigger apps to pass its tvOS doorway. So big in fact, that the new app size cap is set at 4 GB. The app size cap for iPhone applications is also 4 GB, so the amount is completely out of the blue. Apple justifies this change by saying that it will allow app developers to better enrich and enhance the user experience within their apps.
The cloud storage method of bringing larger apps to the tvOS app store is still present and developers can still call upon On-Demand-Resources and provide an additional content amount. This amount, it is said, can reach 20 GB in size, which should be quite a bit of space for developers to work with.
Why limit developers in the first place?
The 200 MB restriction came as a bit of a shocker for some, and just a nuisance for others. Any way you look at it, app developers were dealing with something that in the end could potentially hinder the quality of their final product. This went away alongside the limitation, and now they are free to bring out the utmost quality in their apps.
There is also another factor to keep in mind. Apple has released their Apple TV units with fixed internal storage capacities of 32 and 64 GB respectively. The app size limitation might have been the company’s attempt of ensuring that apps won’t fill up that memory bar in an accelerated manner. With quite a bit of time since the latest version of Apple TV made their way to consumers ( about a year), Apple had a chance to see and inspect the ebb and flow of things as far as memory management goes.
Room for 4K
There’s a theory that’s gaining accelerated popularity online, that speculates what the reason behind the limit removal really is. According to various speculators, Apple has removed the app size limit in an attempt to pave the way for the next tier in quality. With app developers having the possibility of bringing out far larger apps, we could begin seeing the surfacing of 4K content for the Apple TV platform.
After all, it’s been a while since 4K was last considered a simple fad that will eventually go away. From fancy, unnecessary overkill, 4K has slowly crept its way to the top of every tech consumer’s wish list and as the trend goes, not pushing out 4K content can prove detrimental for any company.
Conclusion
That being said, it’s great to see developers getting more freedom and have their working space extended. The 200 MB limitation might have had its reasons but it was a limitation nonetheless. And with any limitation, we usually see consequential sacrifices that have to be made. Let’s hope that with this change, Apple TV and tvOS will continue to grow and adapt to the shifting market accordingly to the market’s requirements without having to fear or get bogged down in technical minorities.
