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androidapkfilesizemultiple-apk
SingleWave Games
SingleWave Games

Reputation: 2648

Android Multiple APKs (density specific)

My game is still in development, however the APK is likely to end up at around 100-150MB. Therefore, I was considering using an expansion file, however these are saved to a public location and not as secure as APKs.

Therefore I have decided to take the APK approach which seems to have a lot more benefits such as security, smaller overall file size, etc.

However, having read the offical documentation I am not entirely sure how things work in regards to density APKs. I would like to create 3 APKs (mdpi, hdpi & xhdpi), however I am unsure on the below:

1 - Does this mean users with a screen density of xxhdpi or any newer densities will not be able to download my app?

2 - How can I implement different density APK files for the Play Store to detect correctly?

3 - Can this just be tested using Alpha and Beta releases?

4 - When uploading to the Google Play Store, what is the size of the application that would be displayed on the site? Will this just take my largest APK and display it?

5 - What are the key pros and cons of using multiple APKs vs expansion files?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 968

Answers (1)

Akhil Jain
Akhil Jain

Reputation: 14203

1- Does this mean users with a screen density of xxhdpi or any newer densities will not be able to download my app

When you modify an APK to "shrink" the support for a device's characteristics and no other APKs support the devices that then fall outside the supported range. For example, if an APK currently supports small and normal size screens and you change it to support only small screens, then you have shrunk the pool of supported devices and some devices will no longer see your application on Google Play. You can resolve this by adding another APK that supports normal size screens so that all previously-supported devices are still supported.

Read more Rules For multiple APK's

2 - How can I implement differnt desnity apk files for the play store to detect correctly Read about Creating Multiple APKs

3 - Can this just be tested using Alpha and beta releases

All the guidelines is applicable to both Alpha and Beta Release, while uploading APK, go to Advanced Section, there you will have necessary information.

4 - When uploading to the google play store what is the size of the application that would be displayed on the site. Will this just take my largest apk and display it?

I would like to draw you attention to quote for Developer Android, Read more here

Google Play currently requires that your APK file be no more than 50MB. For most applications, this is plenty of space for all the application's code and assets. However, some apps need more space for high-fidelity graphics, media files, or other large assets. Previously, if your app exceeded 50MB, you had to host and download the additional resources yourself when the user opens the app. Hosting and serving the extra files can be costly, and the user experience is often less than ideal. To make this process easier for you and more pleasant for users, Google Play allows you to attach two large expansion files that supplement your APK.

The file size that will be shown to user, will include the Expansion pack + APK Size, relevant to that Android Version, Screen Density and other necessary Bucket the device fall into.

5 - What are the key pros and cons of using mulitple apks vs expansion packs?

This is quite debatable, as it totally depends on how you as a developer is going to manage the Application and Versioning and multiple APKs on Google Play.

Upvotes: 2

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