KEY POINTS

  • A new Google Incremental File System could be introduced in Android 12 next year
  • The Incremental File System could allow Android mobile players to play or launch games while they are being downloaded
  • The Incremental File System has a similar function that PS5 owners could soon enjoy when the gaming console finally arrives in the holiday of 2020

The gaming industry was dominated by Nintendo, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Sony’s PlayStation. But, it appears that the gaming landscape is slowly changing with the arrival of more powerful android smartphones and the release of mobile gaming titles. A new report seems to fortify android devices’ grip in the gaming industry as it reveals an upcoming game-changing feature that mobile gamers have been dreaming of.

Google’s Incremental File System

XDA Developers recently published a report revealing that search engine giant Google is currently developing a new file system that could make it easier for users to try out mobile games. The feature could be introduced in Android 12, which could arrive in 2021, the report added. The potential feature is dubbed as Incremental File System.

Android
What lies ahead for the Android OS? Pictured: Dave Burke, Google Vice President of Engineering for Android, speaks during the opening keynote address at the Google I/O 2017 Conference at Shoreline Amphitheater on May 17, 2017 in Mountain View, California. Google CEO Sundar Pichai delivered the opening keynote address to kick off the three-day Google I/O 2017 Conference. Getty Images/Justin Sullivan

According to the report, Google’s Incremental File System is developed to enable resource files and apps to be executed while they are being downloaded or while binary. As early as May, the search engine giant submitted patches to fortify support for the Incremental File System in the Linux kernel. Google’s documentation describes the upcoming tech as a special purpose Linux virtual file system.

Google also notes that with Incremental File System, gamers could wait for the missing data frictionlessly. In other words, players could launch the game while the download is ongoing. With this system, the first MB of the game can be downloaded, while it is executed, the process could call for the first MB of data at the offset of 1GB to be downloaded next, thereby enabling the game’s intro to begin. It is possible that gamers could experience a little freeze in execution when the next batch of data requires to be loaded.

PS5 Game-Changing Feature Similar To Google Incremental FS

In a previous interview with Wired, Sony Interactive entertainment Lead Architect Mark Cerny revealed an interesting game-changing feature of the PlayStation. Cerny said that the PS5 system would have the ability to download parts of the game instead of the entire game. Sony’s next-generation gaming console would have access to the finer-grained details of the data, Cerny added.

Like Google’s Incremental File System, the PS5 could let owners download only the multiplayer or the single-player part of the game to save space on its Solid State Drive, as well as to save download time.

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