Multiple APK

I experimented with Android Multiple Apk on the weekend. It is really simple to create and use.

Why?

If you want to provide as smaller APK file as possible for the end user Multiple APK give you a possibility to split up Android 32Bit and Android 64 bit.
Google Play Store will choose APK depends on a user device.

How?

Pretty simple. You need to follow the next steps:

  1. Build APK using one of architecture: 32bit for example.
  2. Increase Android Version code (Project Version could be the same)
  3. Build APK using another architecture (64bit)
  4. When You create a new release in Google Play Console upload both APKs files in the same release.

Profit!!1

UPD: of course, you are still able to bundle both architectures in one APK file.
UPD1: 32bit apk should have lower Version Code than 64bit apk

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Do you know how many 32-bit only android devices are out there? Maybe for games it’s safe to provide 64-bit binaries only.

Why is it safer? What do you mean?

I don’t think so. Statistics from one of my games for active devices:

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There are 1.5x more 32 bit androids than 64 bit? Huh, I’d never guess, I thought there are like 10% of them tops.

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I uploaded both and Play Store chose the best for a device.
If we believe that Google Play knows how to choose binaries better, that 32 bit is still very important (at least for my games).

(I have so many reservations because this is contrary to the information I found on the internet)

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