Bill Powell <
bill@anarchists.org> wrote:
On Wed, 7 Aug 2024 15:11:33 -0500, VanguardLH wrote:
It's trivial to download any app APK on the Google Play Store whether or
not any given phone is "degoogled" so I don't see why degoogling matters?
Not by using the Play Store app.
I do it all the time without needing to use the Google Play Store app.
Many suggestions are mentioned when looking online.
I think everyone already knows there are many ways to get any APK off the
Google Play Store repo without using the Google Play Store app on Android.
I asked. And this is your response. You're being evasive again.
Instead of making a vacuous statement, how do YOU get
the .apk file for the Magic Earth app? The magicearth.com web site
doesn't provide the .apk file, so just where are you getting it, and how
are you downloading it? Please enlighten instead of being vague.
https://www.wikihow.com/Download-an-APK-File-from-the-Google-Play-Store
That provides one set of instructions for obtaining the .apk file
assuming it is a free app.
That's the hard way to do it, but it will work.
Which has the OP trust some web site to do the .apk retrieve, and yet
another app to do the extract. To get the APK Extractor app has the OP
do the app install, but that's a waste of time since the OP could just
do the Magic Earth install in the first place. No web site needed, no
extra app to install somehow, and wifi on the OP's phone gets him to
Google's Play Store to eliminate all the roundabout workarounds.
There might be other methods. Which do you use?
There are so many ways to scrape the Google Play Store repo, it's not
funny. Some of the ways are here but there are many other ways also.
https://xdaforums.com/t/de-googled-roms-app-stores-aurora-store-vs-app-lounge.4573919/
That has the OP go somewhere other than where the app author publishes
links for downloads (which are installs to the phone). With indirection
you point to the Aurora app store.
https://auroraoss.com/https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStoreWhen I go there, and search on "magic earth" for an app, nothing found.
Looks like you have to use their app store app to find, and download the
APK file to get to and install on your phone. But since it is an
Android app, the OP would already need a means of getting the Aurora
Store app to then use it to search on "magic earth". Didn't see there
was a Windows version of the Aurora Store app for the OP to get the APK
to his Windows host to then transfer to his phone to install there. If
he has to install the Aurora Store app on his phone, he might as well as
do the Google Play Store install of Magic Earth without wasting time
with anything Aurora.
Does the OP first sideload the APK for the Aurora Store app (download to
his Windows host, and copy to his phone) to then search for the Magic
Earth app using the Aurora Store app?
Eventually I found:
https://aurorastore.org/aurora-store-pc/Lots of hoops to jump through before the OP ever gets the APK for Magic
Earth on his Windows host to then copy to his phone for a sideload.
Since the OP can use a wifi hotspot to get to the Google Play Store, why
would he bother with trying to get just the .apk file?
The OP said the dev of Magic Earth told him to get the .apk file, but
never gave a URL of where to find the .apk file. Would've been much
simpler if they gave a URL to a download instead of having to use
alternate store apps.
But the simplest way to get an APK off the Google Play Store is to log into
it using a web browser and just downloading it. What's hard about that?
On a Windows 10 Home host, I went to:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=magic%20earth&c=appsI see an Install button. Don't see a download button. If I click the
Install button, Google wants me to login. Then they list the phones
that I registered under my Google account, and an Install button that
will push the app to the Play Store app on my phone. Still didn't see a
download link to the .apk file. I could, of course, install it to my
phone, but that's not getting just the .apk file.
You apparently found a download link at the app page at Google's Play
Store that I cannot find. Again, instead of mentioning this method,
please detail how /you/ use the Play Store to get only the .apk file.
Once a web browser connects to the above Play Store app page, detail
what steps are next to *download* just the .apk file. Don't evade. I
am curious to know how to get APK files DIRECTLY from the Google Play
Store, not by incorporating some extra web site to do the yank and
another app do to the extract.
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/manifest-intro"Google Play Store doesn't let users install your app on devices that
don't provide the features or system version that your app requires."
The AndoirdManifest.xml file is a text file. I know the Google Play
Store accounts for which device you registered there by using the
manifest to determine which, if any, version of the app you receive.
Maybe the Aurora Store app does the same. If all it dumps on you is the
.apk file, seems you could get an APK that is unusable on your device.
If the Aurora app doesn't do the check before letting you download the
.apk file, does the installer inside the .apk check the manifest to make
sure the app works on that phone?
It is misleading for the app author to tell the OP to get the .apk file,
but never provide a URL for where to download the .apk file. Not how to
jump through hoops installing other apps (which, if performed, means
those extra steps are worthless since the originally targeted app could
be installed without all the workarounds), but how to JUST get the .apk
file downloaded.
Magic Earth app
Re: Magic Earth app
