If you want to install an application on Windows, we have the .exe file for that. For Mac OS X, we have a .dmg file. Those of you who use Symbian and Java phones probably already know about .sis, .sisx and .jar files. Similarly, there is an Android smartphone-specific file format that is used to install apps on it and it is called an APK file (because it has an extension of .apk)
When you install apps from Google Play (formerly known as Android Market), everything is automated and you don’t know where the files are being downloaded, what the file extension is, and how the installation is being done. (image credit: Sacred)
So as long as you only use Google Play to install apps on your Android, you don’t have to worry about anything. But there might be cases where you want to install the app manually, maybe it’s a beta app from the developer’s site, or maybe your friend has it delivered to you via Bluetooth (we’ll see how to do that in my next post).
As I mentioned, apps come in the form of APK files so they can be installed on Android devices. Now the problem is, unlike .exe and .dmg files, these cannot be installed directly and we will have to make some arrangements on our Android device first. So let’s see how you can install these APK files manually when you get it someday.
Steps to install APK files on Android
First of all, we will have to enable the option to install apps of unknown origin on our Android. Open your Android system settings and click Applications (programme for some HTC devices) and check the option Unknown source. For those of you who are using Android ICS 4.0, you will find these settings in the security settings.
On most devices, you can now simply click on files using any file manager to install them using the built-in package manager. If your device doesn’t have a package installer by default, you can download and install the APK installer app from Google Play.
Use the APK Installer app to quickly install third-party APK files
When you want to install APKs manually, just open the APK installer app and navigate to the folder where you saved your APK files. Now just click on the app to bring up the settings screen. Click the install button to successfully install the app.
Before concluding, I should warn you to be a little careful when installing apps from unknown sources. Always make sure that the source is reliable and trustworthy as there is a lot of Android malware circulating on the internet just waiting for you to make a mistake.
If you’re a longtime Android user and have some APK tricks up your sleeve, feel free to skip the comments section!
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
