Hi,
I'm wondering if there is a way to remove everything from your smartphone except only the essentials to run Android OS?
Then download individual APKs for apps such as calculator, clock, VLC, Gmail, Spotify, etc. through the computer and transfer them onto the phone for installation.
Is this possible?
Zach
Thread moved to correct area.
Personal input: A custom ROM like LineageOS is probably as slimmed down as you're going to get. Google Apps and anything that doesn't come with the ROM can be added manually, including installing APKs for apps manually.
I manually update all my apps from apks I usually get from apkmirror.com
You'll need GApps (Google Apps) to run things like Google Play, Gmail, Google Calendar, etc. But there's open source and ROM-baked alternatives. LineageOS for example comes with its own Calendar, File Manager, etc.
Related
Hi,
Is it possible to install Google Maps API (required by several Apps) without installing the garbage integrated in gapps package?
I use CM7.
MaR-V-iN
Just yank what you don't want out of the ZIP or remove everything that is safe to remove with adb or TitaniumBackup.. follow these guidelines http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Barebones
Thanks for the link, but that actually couldn't help me: I only want the Google Maps API, but I can't find those files. (I need api for some app requirements). I tried only installing the framework file, permissions xml and Google maps app, which allows you to use the original Google Maps app, but none of those requiring the Maps API...
Any help would be great.
MaR-V-iN
Is there a way to have, say, multiple Gallery.apk, all being individual applications that can be opened? But not default apks, an apk that I downloaded from the Playstore.
On that note, where can I find my apks that I downloaded from the Playstore?
Sepharite said:
Is there a way to have, say, multiple Gallery.apk, all being individual applications that can be opened? But not default apks, an apk that I downloaded from the Playstore.
On that note, where can I find my apks that I downloaded from the Playstore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Play Store standards don't allow two packages having same names, but yes.. there's a possibility that they can clash with apps installed from other sources (like pre-installed apps, manually installed apps etc). But, its worth remembering that APKs downloaded from Play Store aren't launch-able. They can only be used to install apps. So, there's no use of such things.
You can find APKs downloaded from Play Store at /data/app. You can fetch them using Backup feature of Astro File Manager (there are many other apps for this job). You can use ROM Toolbox Pro, too. It can backup up APK instantly after an app is installed.
Hi, I just transitioned to CyanogenMod 12.1 and I want to install the Google Play Store app but I'm not sure what are the advantages of flashing a minimal GApps package over simply sideloading the APK... or whether there even are any advantages at all. I know that the GApps package also includes some extra functionality, but what is that functionality and can I do without it?
Just the Play Store alone isn't enough. It's best to install a Gapps package because it will install the Google Services Framework, Play Store, and a couple more things needed to make it work. I find it best to flash an appropriate package and then just disable whatever you don't need after you boot. If you uninstall something important, it's more of a pain to install again vs just defreezing the app. You don't save any more usable space by deleting them anyway as they are stored in a different partition vs apps you load from the Play Store.
How to install stock browser from AOSP ROM on COS /H2OS
Thread topic says it all. COS uses Chrome as it's default browser, and I disable/uninstall it first, since I find most of all Google-given apps on Android as bloatware (Gmail, maps, drive, keep, play games, music, video etc). OTOH, H2OS uses QQ browser that has built-in Chinese bloat and bookmarks. I tried to install a stock 5.1.1 browser from OmniROM as system and as a user app, but it keeps FC-ing. Any help in achieving this is appreciated.
Ok.... So I installed it first in /system/app and it FC-ed. But after installing it in /system/priv-app, the browser works well. If anyone needs to use this, please do the same.
Dead Cookies leave no trails...
I am very new to working with/modifying an Android device.
I recently followed the instructions to successfully install LineageOS on an HTC smartphone. Included in those instructions was a section explaining how to install something called GAPPS. So, I did that.
I now have GAPPS on my phone, but never set up a Google account on it. Nor have I installed any of the "usual" Google apps: Maps (I have location turned off), gmail, calendar, photos, contacts, etc., nor do I plan to need or use them. Sooooo........ Two questions:
1) What, if any, information is Google able to extract from my phone?
2) What, if anything, is GAPPS "doing" on my phone in my current setup?
Thanks.