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If you have an Android device, you might have heard the term APK and wondered what it means. While you can use Android without ever learning the meaning of APK, studying a bit will help you appreciate the platform further. Let's look at what an APK file is and why it's important to Android.As it turns out, APKs are a variant of the JAR (Java Archive) file format, since a lot of Android is built in Java. All APKs are ZIP files at their core, but they must contain additional information to properly function as an APK.APK files allow you to install apps on your Android phone. They're similar to the APPX files used to install Store apps on Windows 10, as well as corresponding package files on other platforms. When you open an APK on your device, it contains the instructions to install on your phone, plus provides information about itself to your device. https://boldscripts.com/ is fine for most people's Android installation needs. But there are several benefits to installing APKs manually. One of the biggest is getting access to the latest version of apps ahead of time. When a major Google app (like Calendar) releases a major update, it can take a week or more for your device to get it from Google Play. Installing the APK on your own lets you skip the wait and update as soon as you want.Only download APKs from trusted sites. Be wary of any page that promises you a paid app for free?that's a common tactic to install malware on your device.You might have come across a file on your phone called base.apk and wondered what it does. You'll only be able to see these base.apk files if you have root access on your phone, since they're in protected system folders. This is a file that you'll find in every app folder. It contains the APK that you downloaded from Google Play, used to install the app initially. If you check the size of this file against the file size reported on the app's Play Store page, they should match up. APK backup apps can use these o make a copy of the installed apps on your phone. If you want, you can also manually copy these files elsewhere for your own use. But this isn't necessary for backing up your Android device, so if you're not rooted, don't worry about these files.