How to prevent sleep while installing lots of updates? Whenever I need to install a bunch of updates, I find myself sitting next to the phone/tablet and tapping the screen every 20 seconds, else the updates never complete.

There must be a better way! Right?

What I've got:


Sony Xperia Arc S, with 4.0 - pretty sure the updates stop when the screen goes out.
ASUS Transformer Pad, with 4.1 - will have to re-check whether the updates stop now that you guys mention they are expected to carry on.


How I'm connecting: Wi-Fi.
There an app developed to deal with that issue, Smart Timeout Keep Screen On by guidology available from Google Play Store:


  Smart Timeout allows you to specify apps that will keep the screen / display on. Once there are no specified apps visible on the screen the normal screen timeout is enabled.
  Works great while reading articles in web browsers, email, or any app you specify. You'll no longer need to worry about touching the screen to prevent the screen from sleeping, dimming or timing out.


 

Ain't free, costs 0,76€, but "saves" you from the described annoying situation :)