android - How can I use Android expansion files using App Bundle?

Question

I'm developing an app using App Bundle.

The problem is that I need to add a large video resource file into the app. The first thing I thought of was streaming the video, but that is not possible for now. So I have to download it for the first time and keep it until there is an update. I found out that using expansion files is the suitable solution for this problem. After some struggle, I found out that the Google Play console doesn't show adding expansion files for the App Bundle.

Does anyone have an answer to this? Maybe dynamic delivery can be a solution for this?

Thank you.

Answer 1

While the App Bundle Known Issues includes:

Android App Bundles do not support APK expansion files. However, Google Play still requires that app downloads be 100MB or less. So, for example, when first installing your app, the total size of your base APK and its configuration APKs must equal 100 MB or less. Similarly, the total size of any dynamic feature APK and its configuration APKs must be 100 MB or less. After uploading your app bundle, the Play Console warns you if your app bundle results in APKs that violate this restriction.

the Playtime 2018 blog post states that this is changing in the future:

Improved support for large apps: you can now upload large app bundles with installed APK sizes of up to 500MB without needing to use expansion files. This feature is in early access and we will roll it out to all developers in the future.

So it appears that if you need an APK over 100MB in size, you'll need to wait for the 500MB app bundle support to roll out to your developer account. If your video and APK is less than 100MB already, you should be able to upload it directly and skip using APK expansion files entirely right now.