Android x86 works by default?

[rewb0rn]

Hi all,

with the recent adding of x86 support for Android, I decided to buy an Android x86 tablet for testing (Dell Venue 7, specifically). I was surprised to find that my app can be downloaded from Google Play already and works without notable errors. The app is packaged with a captive runtime and I never made any changes to support x86 architectures. Is it not necessary to create an apk specifically for x86 devices? That is at least what I read in the Adobe guidelines.

Thanks

[ArmandN · Accepted solution]

Apps compiled for ARM work on x86 Android devices (probably via emulation) at reduced speed. I compared my app's performance on a cheap Asus 7" tablet and the difference is visible.

Providing 2 sets of binaries is a bit annoying though, I wish Adobe would make 'universal binaries' for Android too (it is possible to have both architectures on the same APK).

[rewb0rn]

Thanks, you are right. I compiled for x86 and the performance boost is clearly visible. Big minus: Adobe Vibration ANE does not support Android-x86, yet.

[MJD1981]

Hi ArmandN, do you have any advice about how to even upload 2 different binaries to Google Play? I don't seen an option for it.

[rewb0rn]

Go to Google Play console, enable extended mode for uploading apk and upload both apks. Make sure the x86 version has a higher version number than ARM so that devices that support both processors take advantage of the faster x86 versions as described in this article: http://blogs.adobe.com/airodynamics/2014/06/26/versioning-of-multiple-apks-for-android/

You don't have to make any other settings, Google Play is able to identify the required architecture based on the apk and automatically deliver the correct one to the user.