The MagPi - July 2018

raspberrypi.org/magpi July 2018 21

RUN ANDROID ON RASPBERRY PI Feature

What is sideloading?

Android apps work by

downloading a specific file

which is then used to install the

software onto the device. These

files are called APKs, as that’s the

file name extension (.apk). If you

have the APK file, you can install

it on Android without having to

go through a separate store.

STEP 01

SIDELOADING

Example APK STEP 02

F-Droid specialises in free and open-source

Android apps, so you may not find everything you

want on there, such as Netflix. As Netflix is more

concerned about you being able to watch the shows

you’re already paying for, the APK for the app is

available from its website. Open the browser in

emteria.OS and head to magpi.cc/ZUBOSL.

Using the Google Play Store

With custom versions of Android, there are some restrictions. One of

the big ones is that the Google Play Store and some of the proprietary

Google apps are not allowed to be included with software. However,

this doesn’t stop you from installing APKs using sideloading.

Run the APK

Once the APK file has been downloaded,

open it from the Downloads menu. You may

need to enable installing from unknown

sources if you’ve turned that option off in

the emteria.OS settings – otherwise it will

go about installing the Netflix APK for you.

It will appear in your app menu as usual,

although you’ll need to perform manual

updates every now and then!

STEP 03