Is it possible to install multiple android applications in one APK file?

Question

Say I have multiple .apk files. Is it possible to combine all these into one .apk file for the convenience of the end user?

Answer 1

You can compile multiple activities into the same apk, and have them show up separately in the home screen launcher. This would make them appear separate to the user, but they'd still formally be part of the same android "application" - they would run under the same user ID and so have access to each other's data, and could only be uninstalled as a group.