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If you have an Android device, you might have heard the term APK and wondered what it means. While you can use Android without ever learning the meaning of APK, studying a bit will help you understand and appreciate the platform further.

Let's look at what an APK file is and why it's important to Android.

What Is an APK File?
APK stands for Android Package (sometimes Android Package Kit or Android Application Package). It's the file format that Android uses to distribute and install apps. As a result, an APK contains all the elements that an app needs to install correctly on your device.

An APK is an archive file, meaning that it contains multiple files, plus some metadata about them. You're probably familiar with other types of archive files, like ZIP and RAR.

Generally, archive files (like ZIP) are used to combine multiple files into one, in order to make them more portable or compress them to save space. When an archive is used to distribute software, it's then called a software package.

As it turns out, APKs are a variant of the JAR (Java Archive) file format, since a lot of Android is built in Java. All APKs are ZIP files at their core, but they must contain additional information to properly function as an APK.

So all APKs are ZIPs, but not all ZIPs are APKs. If you're curious, you can crack open an APK file and see what's inside. Just use one of the best file extraction tools, like 7-Zip, to open it like you would any old ZIP file. You can't do much with APKs on platforms other than Android unless you install an Android emulator like Bluestacks.