Is it possible to install Android's .apk file?
Was just wondering it would be nice to have a convenient way of installing android's .apk apps in Ubuntu somehow.
Somebody has a clue about it?
The only way to run Android apps in Ubuntu (as far as I'm aware) is to install Android SDK, create a virtual Android device, use the SDK's tools to install the .apk file on that device and run the app inside the device.
Android developer portal has a lot of info on the subject.
Android packages, .apk files, are a completely different packaging format than Ubuntu's packaging format, .deb files.
Besides the packaging differences, Android packages are compiled and customized for the Android operating system, toolchain, and architecture (ARM), which is different from most Ubuntu systems which are 32-bit or 64-bit Intel architecture.
You can use the ARChon to run apk in ubuntu:
- Install the ARChon Runtime. http::github.com/vladikoff/chromeos-apk/blob/master/archon.md
- Open and enable the flag: chrome://flags/#enable-nacl,then restart Google-Chrome. (Important!)
- Install existing android apps in the website or convert your favourite android apps by "Online APK-CRX Converter.
- Drag and drop the Google-Chrome extensions into the chrome://extensions/ page in the browser and it will be installed in your browser. Enjor it!
Why not use the apk installer code from Android x86 and compile it for Ubuntu, because Android x86 is linux, it use the same boot loader and kernel.
If someone can install the apk loader, JAVA runtime an all things you need to run apps, would the apk installer app install apk's on Ubuntu the same way as in Android?
I don't know, but someone can try out.