Google says here:
Important: In the second half of 2021, new apps will be required to
publish with the Android App Bundle on Google Play. New apps larger
than 150 MB must use either Play Feature Delivery or Play Asset
Delivery.
The most straightforward interpretation of this is:
Apps that are first uploaded on Google Play (and does not already exist there) requires AAB, but already existing apps, even if you release a new version of that app, does not require AAB format
But, it seems odd to me that Google would allow millions of apps to use APK instead of AAB, so I considered if this is what they actually mean:
All new releases, including already existing apps on Google Play, require AAB format
Can someone confirm this for me?
Also, if AAB is not required for existing apps, for how long do they allow APK releases?
All new releases, including already existing apps on Google Play, require AAB format
This is incorrect. As you initially said, the change as stated today only applies to apps that upload an artifact for the first time.
Google has not communicated what the plan is for existing apps.
Related
Strange issue just started happening! I submitted an app to android store just fine about 10 minutes ago, I have just come to submit a different app and now google won't let me select the APK file from the open dialog and if I drag and drop it says invalid file type. It also does the same thing if I try a new release on the app i previously submitted without an issue.
In my screenshot attached you can see the APK is greyed out and I can't select it?
You have to upload AAB (Android app bundle).
Starting in August 2021, developers wanting to publish new Android apps on the Google Play Store will have to change how those apps are packaged together: Rather than the traditional APK (Android application package) format that has been in place for years, software makers are going to be required to use the AAB (Android app bundle) framework instead.
I know that google play generated an optimized APK for a given App Bundle (aab).
But if one publishes the old format (APK), does google play modify the apk to make it smaller? Does the user download the whole apk on every update?
Yes.
Note from August next year, you will only have to download aab.
Google Play does not make APKs smaller as it isn't designed for that. AAB are the new upload format and Google Play generates APKs from AAB depending on the device (screen density, abi, language etc) as well as bringing many new features such as dynamic modules.
Google Play uses your app bundle to generate and serve optimized APKs for each device configuration, so only the code and resources that are needed for a specific device are downloaded to run your app. You no longer have to build, sign, and manage multiple APKs to optimize support for different devices, and users get smaller, more-optimized downloads.
More information: https://developer.android.com/platform/technology/app-bundle
It is possible to upload new apk to Google Play automatically? I mean not for already published apps (that have at least one APK uploaded), but for creating absolutely new application and upload its first apk. There is tools like Publisher API, Fastlane etc, but they are uploading apk's for update already published apps.
This is not possible with current android-publisher API version (all the other tools, including fastlane, are built on top of that).
From documentation:
You can only use this API to make changes to an existing app (that has
at least one APK uploaded); thus, you will have to upload at least one
APK through the Play Console before you can use this API.
I was studying Android Developer doc today and found a new topic Multiple APK Support which says that:
Multiple APK support is a feature on Google Play that allows you to publish different APKs for your application that are each targeted to different device configurations.
I am unable to find this feature on Google Play Developer Console, can someone guide me over this feature?
Update :
In Google I/O 2018, a new publishing format has been introduced for Android applications called Android App Bundle. It is a new upload format that includes all your app’s compiled code and resources, but defers APK generation and signing to Google Play
Read More from below links :
https://medium.com/mindorks/android-app-bundle-6c65ce8105a1
https://developer.android.com/guide/app-bundle
#Paul
In new UI on play store developer console APK tab has been removed. And its being replaced by Apk Release So Advanced Mode is removed in new UI on google play store
You must know some rules before upload multiple APKS to play store :
All APKs you publish for the same application must have the same package name and be signed with the same certificate key.
Each APK must have a different version code, specified by the android:versionCode attribute.
Each APK must not exactly match the configuration support of another APK.
for more information please Read
You can also see How to create multiple apk files for android application
All you have to do is upload each version one at a time. Each next version will need to be higher than the previous and it will ask you if you would like to deactivate any of your previous versions or retain them, and you will want to retain them so that they stay available. Please note, users will always receive the highest version available to them though so if they are compatible with multiple versions then they will not be given the choice of which version they want, they will just automatically receive the highest version
Later in the documentation you link, it has a "how it works" section which explains you have to enable Advanced Mode to be able to use the feature:
To publish multiple APKs for the same application, you must enable Advanced mode in your application's APK files tab (as discussed in the previous section). Once in advanced mode, you can upload, activate, then publish multiple APKs for the same application. The following sections describe more about how it works
NOTE
The above answer is deprecated. Please refer to the Feb 1 2018 answer by Dhaval Jivani below.
I just uploaded my android app for beta testing for the first time and my friends are able to download it without issue. However I found that in the app page, 'Size' and 'Current Version' shows 'Varies with device' instead of the actual apk size and version..
I've only uploaded only one APK, what gives?
Screenshot below:
If you wish to access my beta testing app page, send me a message with your gmail address in, so I can add you into the beta testing list.
Have you found out the answer yet? Since you have not elected an answer as a correct one, here we go...
Google Play allows you to publish different APKs for your application. Each one targeted to different device configuration. Thus, each APK is an independent version of your application, but they share the same application listing on Google Play and must share the same package name and be signed with the same release key.
Usually Android applications run on most compatible devices with a single APK, by supplying alternative resources for different configurations (e.g., different layouts for different screen sizes) and the Android system selects the appropriate resources for the device at runtime. But in a few cases, however, a single APK is unable to support all device configurations, because alternative resources make the APK file too big (greater than 50MB) or other technical challenges prevent a single APK from working on all devices.
And even though Google doesn't encourage developers to use this "multiple APK" feature, most Google apps use it: Google+, Google Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Play Books, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Translate.
I hope I was helpful.
Check the Artifacts library section of Release Management in Google Play developer console, you should have just one active artifact for the your app release.
My app was on closed track and the latest release wasn't showing until I removed the draft APKs in "Artifact library" and uninstalled the app from all closed test devices.