AAB vs APK: Why Google Play Requires Bundles Now
Since August 2021, new apps on Google Play must be published as Android App Bundles (AABs) rather than APKs. The AAB format lets Google generate optimized, device-specific APKs at install time, which reduces app size for end users but changes how you need to think about testing.
The catch: because Google generates the final APK per device, a bug that only appears on a specific screen density or CPU architecture combination might not show up in your local testing if you're only testing with a universal APK build.
The fix
Fix: use bundletool to generate and test device-specific APKs locally, not just your development build, to catch bundle-specific issues before submission.
The same check runs automatically when you upload your bundle to the AAB analyzer — permissions, SDK fingerprints, and version info in one pass, free.
Keep going
Run this check on your own AAB
Free analysis, exports when you need them.