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I am reading some Android 11 updates documentation and apparently it is required to implement APK Signature Scheme v2. Does the AAB format do this already?
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App bundles are publishing format, whereas APK (Android application Package) is the packaging format which eventually will be installed on device. Google uses app bundle to generate and serve optimized APKs for each user's device configuration, so they download only the code and resources they need to run your app.
As of now, existing apps aren't required to use the AAB format, but you can still enroll them using Play App signing. To opt into app signing, you'll need to upload the app signing key used to sign previous releases of the app.
Basically, AAB is a publishing format that a developer submits to the Play Store while APK is the packaging format for Android apps that you install on your device.
This led Google to work closely with developers to devise an ecosystem solution: the Android App Bundle, a format specifically designed for publishing. AABs can be used to make apps smaller (apps using AABs on Google Play are 15% smaller on average versus a universal APK), which means faster installs for users and more installs for developers.
APK Signature Scheme v2 was introduced in Android 7.0 to protect apk file more vital. After that, APK Signature Scheme v3 was introduced in Android 9.0 and APK Signature Scheme v4 was introduced in Android 11.0.
For instance – Airbnb reduced its app size by 22% after switching from APK to AAB, whereas Netflix toned down its app size by 57%. That is a considerable difference in app size. Apart from that, the abandoned Instant app feature will get a new lease of life with AAB on Android devices.
Asset packs are groups of files targeted to a group of devices. When using a traditional APK, the app will receive all of the assets and just choose and use the ones that are necessary for that specific device. On the other hand, when using AAB, the Play Store selects the assets that’ll be needed when the user downloads the app.
The Android App Bundle is only a publishing format. The mandate of the signature v2 scheme applies to APKs that are installed on the device. When Google Play generates the APKs from the App Bundle, it uses signature v2 scheme (or more recent), so if you publish to Google Play, you're sorted.
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