Of course, the Play Store, along with obligatory Play Services and related libraries, are the common components between them, but the number of bundled first-party Google applications is the key differentiating factor out there.Ĭompatibility with older Android versions is another interesting aspect of the GApps scene. That’s the reason you can find GApps packages with “pico”, “basic”, “full”, and similar tags. Since it’s really hard to come up with a common solution for all, the GApps maintainers usually offer several variants of their builds. Then come those who prefer an absolute minimalistic setup and consider virtually everything as bloatware. However, many users find them beneficial to take full advantage of the Android ecosystem.įor a regular user, a bunch of first-party Google applications have gradually become integral to Android’s functionality or look and feel. Keep in mind Google apps are not required to boot or run most custom ROMs. ROM developers, on the other hand, usually build the custom ROMs in such a way that an end-user can flash a third-party GApps distribution on top of their builds and seamlessly gain the ability to use the Google Play Store or any other applications that require Google Play Services. The GApps maintainers rely on build scripts that allow for the automated creation of new updated packages at regular intervals.

This is exactly where the GApps packages come in. As these apps are not using the Apache or GPLv2 license, bundling them within the ROM presents legal challenges. Custom ROM developers however can’t easily bundle these Google apps and services with their builds. Google requires every Android device maker to follow the Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) to pass the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) so they can be allowed to pre-load their devices with Google apps and services. In case you don’t see your favorite GApps distribution mentioned here, send a message to Skanda Hazarika ( SkandaH on the forums) with the necessary details. If you’re wondering how to pick and install the right GApps package on your device or on one of the best Android phones, this guide should help you with that. They are specially crafted optional add-ons for custom ROMs that can be used to get Google apps such as Google Play Services and the Play Store on your device. GApps (short for Google Apps) packages are essential in the Android aftermarket development community.

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