Some screenshots purporting to show (or, perhaps, some purported screenshots definitely showing) an automatic update toggle on Android apps have shown up over at Phandroid, via 4chan. I see no reason why they shouldn’t be real, and it certainly would be a boon to all users — as long as some basic issues are accounted for.

How many of you guys have been suckered into updating an app, only to find that the only new feature is ads, or a timer? I’m currently using an old version of Klaxon because the new free version only allows for alarms on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I mean, it’s basically a demo, but if my app had been conveniently updated to that version, I would have been pissed. On the other hand, OTA updates would be wonderful for security problems or minor bugfixes.

At the moment all we’ve seen is this single “Allow automatic updates” checkbox, but I’m guessing there will be some sort of authorization when things do update. After all, an automatic update that suddenly allows for paid services would be a major breach of app etiquette — I’m sure Google will have some rules in place to make sure things like that don’t happen. Either way, I’ll be glad to not have to go through the excruciating one-by-one updating process any more.

Interestingly, as a commenter points out, the 2.2 update is running on a MyTouch, which hasn’t even gotten 2.1 yet. Could 2.2 be a big “sync” update that brings some of the older phones into the fold? I’m not holding out much hope for my G1, but it would be nice.