How to Reduce Your App Size and Comply with Google Play Store APK Size Limit
How to Upload Apps Larger Than 100 MB on Google Play Store
Google Play Store is the official app store for Android devices, where users can download and install millions of apps and games. However, Google Play Store has a size limit for apps, which means that developers cannot upload apps larger than a certain threshold. This limit can be a challenge for some apps that need more space for high-fidelity graphics, media files, or other large assets.
Fortunately, there are ways to overcome this limit and upload apps larger than 100 MB on Google Play Store. In this article, we will explain what is the Google Play Store APK size limit and why it exists, what are Android App Bundles and APK Expansion Files and how they work, how to choose between them, and how to upload your app using either option. By the end of this article, you will be able to upload your app on Google Play Store without worrying about the size limit.
google play store apk size limit
What is the Google Play Store APK Size Limit and Why Does It Exist?
The maximum compressed download size for any set of APKs generated from an AAB is 150 MB. This means that Google Play will generate all possible APKs from your AAB, then check that the maximum compressed download size that any individual device receives is not over 150 MB.
The maximum size for an APK published on Google Play is 100 MB. This means that you cannot upload an APK file that is larger than 100 MB on Play Console. If your app exceeds this limit, you will see an error message when you try to upload it.
The size limit is based on the maximum compressed size of the APKs at the time of download across all supported devices. This means that Google Play will compress your APK files using gzip before serving them to users. The actual size of the APK files on the device may vary depending on the device's file system and other factors.
The size limit is intended to conserve bandwidth and storage space for users and developers. This means that Google Play wants to ensure that users can download and install apps quickly and easily, without using too much data or occupying too much space on their devices. It also means that developers can save costs and resources by uploading smaller APK files to Google Play.
What are Android App Bundles and How Do They Work?
Android App Bundles are a new publishing format that allows developers to upload a single app bundle to Google Play. An app bundle is a file with the .aab extension that contains the compiled code and resources of your app, but not the final APK files. Instead, Google Play uses the app bundle to generate and deliver optimized APKs for each device configuration, such as screen size, density, CPU architecture, language, and so on. This reduces the download size and improves the performance of your app for your users.
Android App Bundles also support Play Feature Delivery and Play Asset Delivery, which allow developers to deliver features and assets on demand or conditionally. This means that you can split your app into modules and decide when and how to download them to your users. For example, you can deliver a feature only when the user requests it, or only when the user is on a certain network or device. You can also deliver large assets, such as game levels or videos, separately from the main APK file, and load them dynamically or in the background.
To create and upload an Android App Bundle, you need to use Android Studio 3.2 or higher, or Gradle 4.6 or higher. You can follow these steps to create an app bundle using Android Studio:
Open your project in Android Studio and select Build > Generate Signed Bundle / APK.
Select Android App Bundle and click Next.
Select or create a signing key for your app and click Next.
Select the build variants that you want to include in your app bundle and click Finish.
Locate the generated .aab file in the app/release/ directory of your project.
Upload the .aab file to Play Console as you would upload an APK file.
You can also use Gradle to create an app bundle from the command line. You can follow these steps to do so:
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Navigate to the root directory of your project.
Run the following command: ./gradlew bundleRelease
Locate the generated .aab file in the app/build/outputs/bundle/release/ directory of your project.
Upload the .aab file to Play Console as you would upload an APK file.
What are APK Expansion Files and How Do They Work?
APK Expansion Files are additional files that supplement the APK for apps that need more space for large assets. For example, if your app is a game that has high-quality graphics or sound effects, you may need to use expansion files to store some of these assets. Expansion files are hosted and served by Google Play for free, and they are saved to the device's shared storage location where your app can access them.
There are two types of expansion files: main and patch. A main expansion file contains essential assets that are not included in the APK file. A patch expansion file contains optional assets that can be updated after the app is installed. Each expansion file can be up to 2 GB in size, and you can use up to two expansion files (one main and one patch) per app.
To create and upload expansion files, you can use Play Console or a command line tool called JOBB. You can follow these steps to create expansion files using Play Console:
Create a ZIP archive of the assets that you want to include in your expansion file. Do not compress the archive.
Rename the ZIP archive with the following format: [mainpatch]...obb. For example, main.1.com.example.myapp.obb.
Login to Play Console and select your app.
Select Release > Edit release.
Android App Bundles and APKs to add, select Browse files and upload your APK file.
Under APK details, select Upload next to Expansion files and upload your expansion file.
Select Review release and follow the steps to publish your app.
You can also use JOBB to create expansion files from the command line. You can follow these steps to do so:
Download the JOBB tool from the Android SDK Manager under Extras.
Navigate to the directory where you downloaded the JOBB tool.
Run the following command: jobb -d /path/to/assets -o /path/to/output.obb -k secret-key -pn com.example.myapp -pv 1. Replace the values with your own parameters.
Upload the .obb file to Play Console as you would upload an APK file.
How to Choose Between Android App Bundles and APK Expansion Files?
Both Android App Bundles and APK Expansion Files are useful options for uploading apps larger than 100 MB on Google Play Store. However, they have different advantages and disadvantages that you should consider before choosing one over the other. Here is a comparison table that summarizes some of the main differences between them:
Android App Bundles
APK Expansion Files
Pros:
Pros:
- Reduces the download size and improves the performance of your app for your users by delivering optimized APKs for each device configuration.
- Allows you to upload apps up to 4 GB in size by using up to two expansion files (one main and one patch) per app.
- Supports Play Feature Delivery and Play Asset