How to use the new version of Gradle in Buildozer to generate aab files?

Question

Building projects

Question to those people who work on Python - Kivy.

As you know, since August 2021, the Play Market has stopped accepting applications in apk format, offering to download all new applications in aad (Android App Bundle) format. And here is the question: how now from Python - Kivy to compile these aab files?

After all, we used buildozer to create apk, but at the moment it (the latest version of buildozer 1.2.0) cannot do this. It would seem that the answer is simple: use buildozer to create apk, and then use Android Studio to convert them into aab.

And this is where all the difficulties begin. A similar question has been repeatedly raised on English-language forums, but there is still no answer. Perhaps some of you have already solved this problem, please share your experience.

When creating an apk file through buildozer, I use android.api = 31, android.minapi = 26, android.ndk = 19c and android.ndk_api = 26. The application compiles successfully, runs and runs without problems. However, when compiling, I get this warning:

[DEBUG]: > Configure project :
[DEBUG]: WARNING: Configuration 'compile' is obsolete and has been replaced with 'implementation' and 'api'.
[DEBUG]: It will be removed at the end of 2018. For more information see: d.android.com/r/tools/update-dependency-configurat...

and

[DEBUG]: Deprecated Gradle features were used in this build, making it incompatible with Gradle 7.0.
[DEBUG]: Use '--warning-mode all' to show the individual deprecation warnings.
[DEBUG]: See https://docs.gradle.org/6.4.1/userguide/command_li...





As you can see from the printscreens, buildozer tries to use Gradle 6.4.1 when building, but for some reason it fails and it builds the apk using an outdated gradle version. In my case, this is Gradle 3.1.4.



It is because of this, as I understand it, that Android Studio cannot recompile this apk file into aab format and asks to use at least version 3.2.0 of Gradle in its assembly.



A question for those people who have already solved this problem: how to force buildozer to use the new version of Gradle in its assembly?

After reading the official information at https://developer.android.com/studio/build/native-..., I still could not figure out how to apply all this for the Python - Kivy - Buildozer bundle.

However, on one of the forums, someone gave advice that they say change android.minapi from 26 to 28 and everything will work. I tried it, unfortunately it didn't work.



I consider the issue relevant, because. now many of those who used to upload small applications in apk format to the Play Market will face this problem.

Answer 1

I've gone to update gradle version to 7.1.1 and android gradle plugin (AGP) to 7.0.0 in Buildozer (in Google Colab), but I still take my pardon. If I got the apk from the Android Studio project, and then tried to build a new .AAB, I'll give myself a pardon. I'm guessing it's Android Studio itself that's to blame for the tsoma.