On October 29th news, earlier this month Pixel 7 series can only run 64-bit applications, and now Google has officially confirmed the news.
In a blog post on its developer site, Google has revealed some information about its Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones. According to Google, the Pixel 7 series is the first ever pure 64-bit Android phone.
Google said that in order to achieve this “feat”, it needed to make various changes “across the platform, tools, Google Play, and of course apps”.
So what’s in it for users? Google points out that 64-bit apps run faster than 32-bit apps because they can use additional registers and instructions that 32-bit apps can’t use. In addition, newer CPUs can provide up to a 25 percent performance boost when running 64-bit code, with some processors even dropping support for 32-bit code altogether.
In addition, it can help improve security. A larger address space makes defenses like ASLR more effective, and spare bits can be used to protect the integrity of the control flow. These countermeasures can reduce the chances of an intruder taking control of the device.
Google also says that removing support for 32-bit code can save up to 150MB of RAM, because the operating system uses that memory even when not running 32-bit applications. These memory savings mean that there are fewer memory shortages, which means fewer background kill situations.
For developers, developers can use better tools, such as HWASan, for detecting memory errors and improving the quality of their applications. For vendors, pure 64-bit devices cut CTS testing time in half, and vendors can update devices faster and easier.
Google also said that pure 32-bit devices remain important for Android Go, Android TV and Android Wear, and that Google Play will continue to offer 32-bit apps for pure 32-bit devices.
