Google Reportedly Stops Generating Fat APKs, Making Sideloading Android Apps More Tedious

Google launched the Android App Bundle (AAB) on the I/O 2018 occasion, enabling builders to construct their purposes as bundles as a extra environment friendly manner of delivering them to customers. Courtesy of this alteration, Google Play Store solely downloaded the particular parts it wanted on smartphones and different gadgets throughout app set up, doubtlessly saving cupboard space. However, this solely utilized to these apps downloaded by way of the Play Store, with sideloading apps nonetheless requiring the set up of fats Android Application Packages (APKs). A latest declare on social media means that the method of sideloading might have gotten a bit extra tedious because of latest adjustments made by the corporate.

Sideloading Android Apps

In a post on X (previously Twitter), Artem Russakovskii, the founding father of APK internet hosting platform APKMirror, claimed that Google had stopped producing fats APKs for a lot of apps. This means customers who want to set up APK information might want to obtain bundles. While fats APKs might be put in by merely downloading a big APK file from the official web sites or third-party sources, bundles usually require an additional step.

To set up these kinds of packages, third-party instruments will now be required, similar to Split APKs Installer (SAI). As per the claims, most of the apps will solely be out there in a bundle format, requiring customers to obtain these instruments earlier than having the ability to set up the APK on their machine.

Why It Matters

According to Google, fats APKs carried compatibility for a number of gadgets relying on their display dimension, CPU structure and extra. This enabled builders to create a single bundle file as an alternative of getting to launch a number of packages for numerous machine sorts. While bundling every little thing in a single fats APK was mentioned to make it simpler for customers to obtain, it led to unused content material occupying a bit of cupboard space on the machine which might have been used for alternate functions.

This drawback is claimed to be tackled by Google’s AAB. Instead of cramming necessities for all gadgets in a single fats APK, Google Play Store solely downloads a portion of the file it must run this system on that individual machine, resulting in a discount within the area occupied by the appliance.