apkpublishingdynamic-feature-moduleandroid-app-bundle

Publishing update for only base module or to only some of the users

I wanted to ask about publishing android app bundle. I cannot find clear answers on a few topics related to dynamic feature modules.

  1. Is it possible to publish update for only base module but not for dynamic modules? In my case I have one large module to download and I would not like to force my users to download every time even if nothing changes. Is there any solution for that?

  2. I have my own page where I publish the apk for some people, is it possible to publish aab not from google play?

  3. Can I publish update for only certain group of user?

Thank you in advance for your help

Solution

  • Answering questions in order:

    1. No, you cannot publish updates for only one module, it's all or nothing. However, Google Play will optimise the size of the downloads by only sending down a patch with the difference between the version they have installed and the new version being installed. So if a module does not have any update, your users will not have to download it. Note that this patching feature is best effort and may not be applied in tracks other than the production track, so if you test in -say- a beta track, you may still see the full module being downloaded.

    2. If you have the signing key, you can generate a universal APK from the AAB using bundletool. Otherwise, you can download the universal APK signed with the signing key from the Play Console in the Bundle Explorer. This is a single APK containing all modules marked as "fused" (in the respective modules' AndroidManifest.xml), so will be easy to download and install.

    3. You can use testing tracks to update for certain users ahead of the production release. Otherwise, on the production track, you can do progressive rollouts to target a percentage of the population, but you can't choose which users will get the update.