GAPPS: Stock vs Modded - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

What is the fundamental difference between stock, preinstalled Google Apps that you would find on your newly bought phone versus the google apps package that you flash over to the phone when installing a custom rom like CM?
I realize that the GAPPS are installed into a system directory as opposed to where all other apps are installed. I don't understand why all GAPPS that come on a new phone are updateable even though they are in the system directory as you can "Uninstall Updates" while with GAPPS that are flashed over with a custom rom are not. Are the GAPPS that you flash after a custom ROM updateable via the Play Store?

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Blazing Hornet said:
What is the fundamental difference between stock, preinstalled Google Apps that you would find on your newly bought phone versus the google apps package that you flash over to the phone when installing a custom rom like CM?
I realize that the GAPPS are installed into a system directory as opposed to where all other apps are installed. I don't understand why all GAPPS that come on a new phone are updateable even though they are in the system directory as you can "Uninstall Updates" while with GAPPS that are flashed over with a custom rom are not. Are the GAPPS that you flash after a custom ROM updateable via the Play Store?
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Me, also have the same question. Hoping they were updateable via play store

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Blazing Hornet said:
What is the fundamental difference between stock, preinstalled Google Apps that you would find on your newly bought phone versus the google apps package that you flash over to the phone when installing a custom rom like CM?
I realize that the GAPPS are installed into a system directory as opposed to where all other apps are installed. I don't understand why all GAPPS that come on a new phone are updateable even though they are in the system directory as you can "Uninstall Updates" while with GAPPS that are flashed over with a custom rom are not. Are the GAPPS that you flash after a custom ROM updateable via the Play Store?
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Downloadable gapps you can choose which versions i.e standard all Google Apps and core would be basic stuff like playstore and file size would be a lot smaller... As for updating I've never ran into any issues

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I've never run into update problems with GAPPs. They are built off of Google's source, so they should be just like any pre-installed app. However, they don't come pre-installed on aftermarket ROMs because of licensing issues. Also, many devs, for example the Slim team, modify their GAPPs so they will respond to the "Dark Slim" or similar toggles. Stock GAPPs won't respond to theming. Oh, many of the aftermarket ROMs are de-odexed and as such, so are the GAPPs packages that go with them.

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I believe I understand it now. Correct me if I am wrong. GAPPS include the Play Store and other apps for example Gmail and Maps etc. depending on if it is a standard or core package. All of these will update with newer versions as they are released in the Play Store. Things like the Dialer and Calendar are apps that come with the ROM and are not update able unless the ROM itself is updated.
Why is it then that people download standard packages and not just a core package with the Play Store so that they can immediately download the newest Google Apps?

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Blazing Hornet said:
I believe I understand it now. Correct me if I am wrong. GAPPS include the Play Store and other apps for example Gmail and Maps etc. depending on if it is a standard or core package. All of these will update with newer versions as they are released in the Play Store. Things like the Dialer and Calendar are apps that come with the ROM and are not update able unless the ROM itself is updated.
Why is it then that people download standard packages and not just a core package with the Play Store so that they can immediately download the newest Google Apps?
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I think you're a bit confused. Most gapps packages are already somewhat "core" packages and have very few elements extra. If you check Cyanogenmod gapps you'll see them sometimes remove the apps that are available via the Play Store in their changelog.
As for updating, they can update just fine. What you're confusing though probably is on a rom upgrade. When you download a stock OTA update, they contain the updated gapps at least for the core functionality that would "break" the phone if they weren't updated. The others update via Play Store.
On a custom rom update from let's say Android 4.3 to Android 4.4, rom maintainers do not package the gapps with the rom itself for various reasons, one of them being not wanting to get picked on by Google like Cyanogenmod was in the past. They used to have them packaged, but Google didn't want that and the community came to an agreement to provide them separately.
Hope this helps

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polobunny said:
I think you're a bit confused. Most gapps packages are already somewhat "core" packages and have very few elements extra. If you check Cyanogenmod gapps you'll see them sometimes remove the apps that are available via the Play Store in their changelog.
As for updating, they can update just fine. What you're confusing though probably is on a rom upgrade. When you download a stock OTA update, they contain the updated gapps at least for the core functionality that would "break" the phone if they weren't updated. The others update via Play Store.
On a custom rom update from let's say Android 4.3 to Android 4.4, rom maintainers do not package the gapps with the rom itself for various reasons, one of them being not wanting to get picked on by Google like Cyanogenmod was in the past. They used to have them packaged, but Google didn't want that and the community came to an agreement to provide them separately.
Hope this helps
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Thanks for the explanation