TL;DR
- Amazon has revealed that it’s working to bring AAB support to its AppStore.
- The news comes a few weeks after Windows 11 was revealed.
- Windows 11 offers Android app support via the Amazon AppStore.
Google revealed the Android App Bundle (AAB) format in 2018, splitting an app into several smaller files in order to reduce the download and install size. The search giant has since mandated that all new apps submitted from next month will need to adopt this format instead of the legacy APK standard.
Oddly enough, the Amazon AppStore hasn’t supported the AAB format at all. But the firm has now announced in a developer blog post (h/t: GSMArena) that it is indeed “actively working” to support the format.
The company hasn’t issued a deadline in this regard but has confirmed that this support is optional. This is a sharp contrast to Google, which is making Android App Bundles mandatory from August onwards.
The move nevertheless comes at a critical time for Amazon. Microsoft’s Windows 11 update includes Android app support and uses the Amazon AppStore as the app market of choice. So Android App Bundle support is one less headache for developers wanting to bring their apps to Amazon’s market and Windows devices. Failure to support this format would mean that developers have to manually convert their App Bundles to APK format before submitting it to Amazon’s storefront.
This news also comes a few days after Huawei insisted that Google’s decision to mandate the AAB format wouldn’t hamper the development of Harmony OS. Nevertheless, we hope other app stores and repositories support the new format if they haven’t hopped aboard already.
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