PackageInstallerActivity not found on Android M developer preview

Question

I have a feature to be implemented: install an apk programmatically. Code I'm using:

ComponentName comp = new ComponentName("com.android.packageinstaller", "com.android.packageinstaller.PackageInstallerActivity");
Intent newIntent = new Intent(callingIntent);
newIntent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
newIntent.setComponent(comp);

The callingIntent contains an apk from another service.

On Android 6.0 (MPA44G, Nexus 5), this intent is crashing. Logcat:

08-20 14:58:56.127 26222 26222 E AndroidRuntime: Caused by: android.content.ActivityNotFoundException: Unable to find explicit activity class {com.android.packageinstaller/com.android.packageinstaller.PackageInstallerActivity}; have you declared this activity in your AndroidManifest.xml?

On Lollipop- devices, the above code is working fine.

Has Google completely removed the PackageInstallerActivity? Is there any workaround to programmatically install an apk specifically on Android 6.0?

Reference: Issue 3017: Unable to find explicit activity class com.android.packageinstaller.PackageInstallerActivity

Answer 1

I got the answer. Intent.ACTION_INSTALL_PACKAGE is a better choice. If your app is registered as a package installer, use the sample code below to bypass a chooser dialog:

intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_INSTALL_PACKAGE);
intent.setData(Uri.fromFile(file));
intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);

If you want to use the standard package installer, use the following code:

File apkFile = new File(apkFileString);
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW); 
intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);  
intent.setDataAndType(Uri.fromFile(apkFile), "application/vnd.android.package-archive");  
mContext.startActivity(intent);