In Android, you can download apps as APK files, similar to the APPX files you use to install Store apps on Windows 10 and their corresponding package files on other platforms. The APK contains instructions about installing the application on your phone and information about the apk downloader PC application. Normally, when you download or update an app from Google Play, the store automatically installs the APK on your device.
The Play Store functions as a package manager—a way to easily install, update and remove the software. Since Android is an open platform, it isn’t just Google Play that can be used to find and install APKs. You can also get an APK file from somewhere else, move it to your Android device apk downloader PC, and manually install it. For a comprehensive guide, see how to sideload apps on Android.
The official Android development tool, Android Studio, is likely used by developers when creating Android apps. Once the app is ready, Android Studio compiles it and then packages it into an APK. For most people, Google Play is sufficient to install Android apps, but sideloading APKs offers several benefits. Sideloading also lets you install apps that are not available on Google Play.
Perhaps you want to test a friend’s app currently in development, or perhaps you find an app not allowed on Google Play due to a policy violation. Nevertheless, downloading APK files from random websites is just as dangerous as downloading desktop software. Google Play has filters to catch dangerous apps, but installing APK files on your own doesn’t offer as much protection. They may contain malware disguised as a legitimate app or spyware that was tampered with to make it appear legitimate.
In your phone’s system directory, you’ll find a file named base.apk, and you might wonder what it is. It’s not visible to anyone without root access since it belongs to a protected system partition. The APK file from Google Play that you downloaded to install the app is in every app folder. You can verify the size of this file against the size indicated on the Play Store page for the app.
