How to: Disable app auto-updates in new Android Market

The Android Market was updated today. Among the new features is a setting that automatically updates any applications you have installed on your device when a new version is released.

It sounds like a handy function, and in principal it is. However, it also has the potential to be annoying and disruptive. There are times when you may not automatically want an app to update. Perhaps you’d prefer to read the release notes first to check if the new version takes away a function that you need, or you want to check out user comments to find out if anyone is having stability issues with the new release.

Don’t panic, because there is a way to disable automatic updates from the Android Market. Simply hit the Menu button in Market and make sure that ‘Auto-update apps’ is unchecked. There’s also a new WiFi-only upgrade setting that will save you using up your bandwidth allocation when updating apps.

Incidentally, there are several other changes that come with the new version of the Android Market. These include voice-based search, PIN authentication support to prevent accidental purchase of apps, a star rating chart, and more.

The new version of the Android Market will be made available as an over-the-air download from today. If you still haven’t received it and can’t wait to check it out, though, then you can download it here and install it right now!