Do our APK's meet the new 64-bit requirement ?

Do we currently meet this requirement?

The 64-bit requirement: what it means for developers

Starting August 1, 2019:

All new apps and app updates that include native code are required to provide 64-bit versions in addition to 32-bit versions when publishing to Google Play.

Extension: Google Play will continue to accept 32-bit only updates to existing games that use Unity 5.6 or older until August 2021.

Starting August 1, 2021:

Google Play will stop serving apps without 64-bit versions on 64-bit capable devices, meaning they will no longer be available in the Play Store on those devices.

This will include games built with Unity 5.6 or older.

Link to post android-developers.googleblog.com/2019/01/get-your-apps-ready-for-64-bit.html

Cheers

I think they already do, but maybe Nepeo knows more?

I think they already do, but maybe Nepeo knows more?

Cheers, would be nice to confirm this.

It depends on the included libraries, if you export a barebones project ( Space blaster for instance ) it only includes Java code, which compiles to a single DEX file. DEX is an architecture independent bytecode, so that project will work on any Android device. Only APKs which include "native" libraries will be architecture dependant, and I'm not aware of any first party plugins which include those. Same rule applies for third party plugins.

So I believe we're fine. I might do some more reading on the subject though.

Would be great for confirmation, best to mitigate any potential issues before they arise.

Cheers

I think all official features are fully 64-bit compatible, but for any third-party addons you use, you'll need to separately check with the third-party developer.

I think all official features are fully 64-bit compatible, but for any third-party addons you use, you'll need to separately check with the third-party developer.

Fantastic, good to know.

Cheers

so happy to hear this, we already 64 bit

It depends on the included libraries, if you export a barebones project ( Space blaster for instance ) it only includes Java code, which compiles to a single DEX file. DEX is an architecture independent bytecode, so that project will work on any Android device. Only APKs which include "native" libraries will be architecture dependant, and I'm not aware of any first party plugins which include those. Same rule applies for third party plugins.

So I believe we're fine. I might do some more reading on the subject though.

Hi Nepeo, you said you might do some more reading on the subject, did you find any information, are we 100% clear? I want to be sure.

We're looking pretty good for all the first party addons. I haven't looked at any third party ones, that's up to the individual developer. I would imagine they, like us, will be fine. You can check out the document that they posted https://developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/develop/64-bit which tells you how to identify if your APK is architecture agnostic or not.

We only use Java code on Android, and if you try looking at the APK in an archive viewer like they suggest you will see no compiled library folders. So all good!

We're looking pretty good for all the first party addons. I haven't looked at any third party ones, that's up to the individual developer. I would imagine they, like us, will be fine. You can check out the document that they posted https://developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/develop/64-bit which tells you how to identify if your APK is architecture agnostic or not.

We only use Java code on Android, and if you try looking at the APK in an archive viewer like they suggest you will see no compiled library folders. So all good!

Thats nice to hear! Yup, i read that link yeasterday, i unpacked the APK with 7zip but i did not find any "lib" folder, from what i understand that means that the App is architecture independent correct?

sachos345

Thats nice to hear! Yup, i read that link yeasterday, i unpacked the APK with 7zip but i did not find any "lib" folder, from what i understand that means that the App is architecture independent correct?

That's correct yes. APKs are architecture independent unless they contain code for specific architecture, which will be placed in a lib folder. So no lib folder is a good sign!

Below is a diagram showing how your game is executed on an Android device. The C3 runtime is written in JavaScript, and addons are written in a mixture of Java and JavaScript. Java is needed to access some Android features.

Anything that runs directly on the processor has to be the specific architecture for that CPU. As you can see Construct runs via the Dalvik VM and the V8 VM. These are already on the device and using the correct architecture, so you don't have to worry about those. Java was specifically designed to be platform independent so programmers didn't have to worry about architecture differences.

Game/rendering engines that compile directly to machine code are often architecture dependant, such as unity and unreal.

sachos345

> Thats nice to hear! Yup, i read that link yeasterday, i unpacked the APK with 7zip but i did not find any "lib" folder, from what i understand that means that the App is architecture independent correct?

That's correct yes. APKs are architecture independent unless they contain code for specific architecture, which will be placed in a lib folder. So no lib folder is a good sign!

Below is a diagram showing how your game is executed on an Android device. The C3 runtime is written in JavaScript, and addons are written in a mixture of Java and JavaScript. Java is needed to access some Android features.

Anything that runs directly on the processor has to be the specific architecture for that CPU. As you can see Construct runs via the Dalvik VM and the V8 VM. These are already on the device and using the correct architecture, so you don't have to worry about those. Java was specifically designed to be platform independent so programmers didn't have to worry about architecture differences.

Game/rendering engines that compile directly to machine code are often architecture dependant, such as unity and unreal.

Perfect explanation! Thank you so much =)