Android App Bundle
Android App Bundle is the Android application publishing file format. The App Bundle must include the
application's compiled code and resources, which allows for the signing and generation of APK files to be
deferred to the app store, reducing the initial download size of the app.[1] The file extension used for this
format is ".aab".[2]
Google Play requires Android App Bundles for all new
Android App Bundle
apps since August 2021 and for all updates to
preexisting apps since November 2021.[3][4] Since May
2023, Android TV requires AABs.[5]
Filename extension .aab
Split APKs
Type of format Package format
Without Android App Bundles, an APK can support Container for Android
multiple languages, up to four different CPU
Open format? yes
architectures, and several display resolutions.[6] This
meant that each installation file could contain Website [Link]
/guide/app-bundle (http
potentially large amounts of bloat irrelevant for a
s://[Link]
device's specific combination of CPU, locale, and m/guide/app-bundle)
screen size.[6]
Split APKs, which are generated by an app store like Google Play, contain only the code and resources that are
needed for the specific device downloading the app.[7] If the user changes their device language or feature set,
the app store can then deliver additional split APKs on demand to meet the changed requirements.[8]
Android App Bundles are required for using "play as you download" feature of Google Play, which lets users
download and install a portion of the game to start playing and then download the rest while the user is
occupied by the first level.[9]
See also
Android software development
apk (file format)
References
1. "About Android App Bundles" ([Link] . Android Developers. Archived (htt
ps://[Link]/web/20210809200609/[Link] from the original on
2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
2. "bundletool" ([Link] . Android Developers. Retrieved
2021-10-19.
3. Peters, Jay (2021-06-30). "Google is moving away from APKs on the Play Store" ([Link]
0/22557390/google-apk-app-bundles-package-format-play-store) . The Verge. Archived ([Link]
b/20210804045536/[Link]
store) from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
4. "New Android App Bundle and target API level requirements in 2021" ([Link]
20/11/[Link]) . Android Developers Blog. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
5. Amadeo, Ron (2022-11-22). "Android TV will require App Bundles in 2023, should reduce app size by 20%" ([Link]
[Link]/gadgets/2022/11/android-tv-will-require-app-bundles-in-2023-should-reduce-app-size-by-20/) . Ars
Technica. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
6. Amadeo, Ron (2021-07-01). "Google Play dumps APKs for the more Google-controlled "Android App Bundle" " (http
s://[Link]/gadgets/2021/07/google-play-dumps-apks-for-the-more-google-controlled-android-app-bundl
e/) . Ars Technica. Archived ([Link]
07/google-play-dumps-apks-for-the-more-google-controlled-android-app-bundle/) from the original on 2021-08-
12. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
7. Tim Anderson. "Android devs prepare to hand over app-signing keys to Google from August" ([Link]
om/2021/07/01/android_app_bundle/) . [Link]. Archived ([Link]
26/[Link] from the original on 2021-07-24. Retrieved
2021-08-15.
8. Elliott, Dom (2020-11-23). "A new publishing format for the future of Android" ([Link]
v/what-a-new-publishing-format-means-for-the-future-of-android-2e34981793a) . Medium. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/web/20210716040146/[Link]
uture-of-android-2e34981793a) from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
9. Amadeo, Ron (2021-11-15). "Android 12: The Ars Technica Review" ([Link]
d-12-the-ars-technica-review/) . Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
External links
Official website ([Link]
This Google-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it ([Link]
w/[Link]?title=Android_App_Bundle&action=edit) .
