APK ABI: What You Need to Know About Android Application Binary Interfaces

What is APK ABI and why does it matter?

If you are an Android developer, you might have heard of the term APK ABI, but do you know what it means and why it is important for your app? In this article, we will explain what APK ABI is, how Android supports different ABIs, and how you can reduce your APK size by using ABI filters and APK split.

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APK ABI explained

What is an ABI?

An ABI, or Application Binary Interface, is an interface between two program modules, often one of them being a library or an operating system facility. An ABI defines how data structures and functions are accessed in machine code, which depends on the CPU architecture and instruction set. For example, an ABI specifies how to pass arguments to a function, how to return values from a function, how to allocate memory, how to handle exceptions, and so on.

How does Android support different ABIs?

Different Android devices use different CPUs, which in turn support different instruction sets. Each combination of CPU and instruction set has its own ABI. For example, some common ABIs for Android are armeabi-v7a (for 32-bit ARM CPUs), arm64-v8a (for 64-bit ARM CPUs), x86 (for 32-bit Intel CPUs), and x86_64 (for 64-bit Intel CPUs).

To make your app compatible with different devices, you need to include native code (such as C or C++ libraries) for each supported ABI in your APK. This way, the Android system can load the appropriate native code for the device's CPU. You can specify which ABIs you want to support in your app's build.gradle file.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of supporting multiple ABIs?

The main benefit of supporting multiple ABIs is that your app can run on more devices, regardless of their CPU architecture. This can improve your app's reach and performance.

The main drawback of supporting multiple ABIs is that your APK size will increase significantly, as you need to include native code for each ABI. This can affect your app's download time, storage space, and update frequency.

How to reduce APK size by using ABI filters and APK split

What are ABI filters and APK split?

ABI filters and APK split are two techniques that can help you reduce your APK size by generating multiple APKs that contain only the native code for specific ABIs.

ABI filters allow you to filter out certain ABIs that you don't want to include in your APK. For example, if your app only supports armeabi-v7a and arm64-v8a, you can use an ABI filter to exclude x86 and x86_64 from your APK.

APK split allows you to create separate APKs for each ABI that you support. For example, if your app supports armeabi-v7a, arm64-v8a, x86, and x86_64, you can use APK split to generate four different APKs, one for each ABI.

How to use ABI filters in Gradle?

To use ABI filters in Gradle, you need to add a splits block to your module-level build.gradle file. Within the splits block, provide an abi block that specifies which ABIs you want to enable or exclude. For example:

apk abi filters

apk abi splits

apk abi size reduction

apk abi compatibility

apk abi arm64-v8a

apk abi armeabi-v7a

apk abi x86

apk abi x86_64

apk abi multiple

apk abi universal

apk abi configuration

apk abi gradle

apk abi ndk

apk abi android studio

apk abi documentation

apk abi optimization

apk abi performance

apk abi testing

apk abi debugging

apk abi error

apk abi support library

apk abi native code

apk abi neon

apk abi vfpv3-d16

apk abi elf

apk abi mips

apk abi armv5

apk abi armv7-a

apk abi armv8-a

apk abi ia-32

apk abi mmx

apk abi sse3

apk abi popcnt

apk abi softfp

apk abi hardfp

apk abi aarch64

apk abi advanced simd

apk abi intrinsics

apk abi endianness

apk abi stack and registers

apk abi executable binaries

apk abi c++ names mangled

apk abi system v application binary interface

apk abi generic/itanium c++ ABI

apk ABI neon programmer's guide for armv8-a[^2^]

splits abi enable true reset() include 'armeabi-v7a', 'arm64-v8a' universalApk false

This code will generate a single APK that contains only the native code for armeabi-v7a and arm64-v8a. How to use APK split in Gradle?

To use APK split in Gradle, you need to add a splits block to your module-level build.gradle file. Within the splits block, provide an abi block that specifies which ABIs you want to enable and whether you want to generate a universal APK that contains all the ABIs. For example:

splits abi enable true reset() include 'armeabi-v7a', 'arm64-v8a', 'x86', 'x86_64' universalApk true

This code will generate five APKs, one for each ABI and one universal APK.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using ABI filters and APK split?

The main advantage of using ABI filters and APK split is that you can reduce the size of each APK by removing unnecessary native code. This can improve your app's download time, storage space, and update frequency. It can also help you avoid the 100 MB limit for Google Play Store uploads.

The main disadvantage of using ABI filters and APK split is that you need to manage multiple APKs for your app. This can increase the complexity of your build process, testing, and distribution. You also need to ensure that each APK has a unique version code and that users get the right APK for their device.

Conclusion

In this article, we have learned what APK ABI is, how Android supports different ABIs, and how you can reduce your APK size by using ABI filters and APK split. We have also discussed the benefits and drawbacks of these techniques. We hope that this article has helped you understand how to optimize your app for different devices and improve your user experience.

FAQs

What is the difference between ABI and CPU architecture?

An ABI is an interface between two program modules, while a CPU architecture is a design of a CPU that defines its instruction set, registers, memory model, etc. An ABI depends on the CPU architecture, but not vice versa. For example, arm64-v8a is an ABI for 64-bit ARM CPUs, while ARMv8-A is a CPU architecture that supports arm64-v8a and other ABIs.

How can I check the ABI of my device?

You can use the Build.SUPPORTED_ABIS property in your code to get an array of ABIs supported by your device. You can also use the adb shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abi command in the terminal to get the primary ABI of your device.

How can I check the ABI of my APK?

You can use the aapt dump badging command in the terminal to get information about your APK, including its supported ABIs. You can also use the Android Studio APK Analyzer tool to inspect your APK's contents and properties.

How can I upload multiple APKs to Google Play Store?

You can use the Multiple APK feature in Google Play Console to upload and manage multiple APKs for your app. You need to ensure that each APK has a unique version code and that they are compatible with different device configurations.

What is an Android App Bundle?

An Android App Bundle is a new format for publishing apps on Google Play Store that replaces multiple APKs. It is a single file that contains all the code and resources for your app, but allows Google Play to generate and serve optimized APKs for each user's device configuration. This way, you don't need to manage multiple APKs yourself and users download only what they need to run your app.