Currently F-Droid only provides applications with a universal architecture, and it makes the size bigger than using a specific architecture. For example, an app called Musify, I prefer to download it from the github release because it has the specific arm64-v8a architecture rather than F-Droid which doesn’t include it.
So what do you guys think?
False take a look at VLC or Element or Conversations or etc
Which app are you concerned about?
Maybe it can be enabled there too
You’re right, I don’t know that. I know it’s probably only available from the developer themselves, but why do most developers not include specific architecture? maybe F-Droid could push or encourage the developers a bit especially new developers who upload their apps.
I don’t know if this has its own access or not, I hope in the future the developers pay more attention to this, that way the size and compatibility might be better. If I install VLC from the F-Droid app, will it install the appropriate architecture? I previously installed various apps from F-Droid, but now I only have Musify (by gokadzev) installed, but since it’s only available in the github release, I didn’t install it from F-Droid.
Ask them, and we do encourage them
As expected, yes
Sorry, just ignore it. Thank you for the confirmation.
I thought you talked about some 200-400 Mb app 
29Mb is like 4 pics via instant mesaging
It makes sense that you would think that if you just looked at the size, I would think the same too. Yes, of course the difference of 10-20mb is not that big, but the main point isn’t just that, you know what I mean.
If you prefer to install apps using an F-Droid client but not a stickler for a single repo (F-Droid repo) you can add the IzzyOnDroid repo. The arm64 build is what is offered there.
Thank you, that really helps.
I see VLC provides the architectures one by one, is it possible that fdroid only allows splitting them all, and not allowing (for example) arm-v8a and universal options at the same time?
Which app has both armv8 and universal?
Not in one apk, what I mean is uploading the arm-v8a apk, and the universal apk (which also includes arm-v8a) at the same time. Is it possible that F-Droid only allows uploading of its own specific architecture and and can’t upload the universal one anymore (which includes all those architectures)? In the previous example of Musify, the developer only made specific versions for v8a, v7a and others were not separated. I’m just guessing, maybe instead of uploading just v8a (the only one that’s separated/split) the developers decided to just upload universal for wider support.
Sorry if I’m wrong. What I think is that once you upload the universal version, you can’t upload the specific versions again at the same time. On the other hand, if you have uploaded a specific version with it’s own architecture, you can no longer upload a universal version, as if you can only choose one. If that’s true then maybe F-Droid has to do something.
This is controlled by package versionCode
F-Droid’s logic is like this:
Eg. You can have 3 packages
If device advertises armv7 it gets 2
If device advertises armv7&armv8 it gets 3
If device advertises armv8 it gets 3
If device has x86 or x86_64 or both, it gets 1
So having universal too is not an issue, as we guide devs to set a proper versionCode
I use F-Droid, and I do see that some apps have no independent variants (Universal), yet some do have version specific variants, and some have both cases. It’s a mixed bag.
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