Google is now introducing Android App Bundles to replace its standard format for app publishing popularly known as APK for its PlayStore. AppBundle format is basically a way to generate APKs by selecting a subset of resources –there are open source tools bundled with the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) that will guide developers. So Amazon or Microsoft will have to do some work to support it on their own marketplaces.
Starting in August, Google will require that new Play apps are published instead using the Android App Bundle. Android App Bundles (AAB) offer benefits for users in the form of smaller downloads. To put it simply, an APK install would have to be compatible with all supported device configurations and languages, while an AAB-packaged app would download only what was needed for your device and language combination. For developers, Google pitches them as more efficient and resulting in fewer uninstalls from users. They are also more secure via Google’s Play App Signing, preventing apps from being compromised.
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The timing is not however good for Microsoft as it comes after they announced Windows 11, which has the ability to let you sideload Android apps as APKs. Google’s switch to App Bundles may mean that there will be fewer apps available to run on Microsoft’s new operating system, though you’ll also be able to get Android apps on Windows 11 from the Amazon Appstore.
As always, the issue for developers is that if they want to target the Amazon App Store for Fire tablets and Windows 11 PCs, Huawei’s AppGallery for HarmonyOS, and the Google Play Store, they’ll have to have completely separate code bases for each platform, and only Google’s benefits from these changes.
