Open XAPK File

OBB File and XAPK

OBB file is short for Opaque Binary Blob and it is used to deliver app content on Android platform. OBB files are usually delivered as part of the application installation process and contain app data which does not fit to primary installation APK file.

Most of the applications do not need OBB files because their site is smaller than 100MB limit which is the maximum size of the individual APK app file that Google Play store can download. But with games becoming more advanced and requiring more and more graphic data on the mobile phone it becomes impossible for applications to stay below 100MB limit imposed by the Google Play store. That is why Android development platform introduced concept of OBB files which can contain additional app content and downloaded together with application.

Each application can have one or two OBB files: main OBB file and patch OBB file. Typically, main OBB file will contain most important and rarely changed content of the application and will is supposed to be rarely (if ever) updated. Patch OBB file can serve as a storage for app data which changes more frequently. If necessary, patch OBB file could be updated on a frequent basis.

In most of the scenarios Google Play Store manages download of APK and OBB files. But when app is installed outside of Google Play store XAPK file comes to help. XAPK is an archive which contains both APK and OBB files in compressed form. XAPK format is not natively supported by Google Play or Android platform and is mainly used to distribute applications from 3rd party download websites. To install XAPK file on your Android device you will either need to use XAPK installer app or decompress XAPK file on your computer and copy resulting APK and OBB files to your device. You can also decompress XAPK file on your device locally. Since XAPK files are not officially supported you need to be careful and install them only from trusted sources.