APK Editor Studio v1.5.0 Released

Release

I am happy to announce the APK Editor Studio v1.5.0! It's been a long time since the previous release, and finally, the big update containing lots of new stuff is out.

What's New

All Platforms

• Added APK cloning
• Added signature viewer
• Added command line parameters
• Added ability to sign and optimize APK without unpacking
• Added support for multi-window mode
• Added support for system dark mode
• Added support for relative tool paths
• Added explicit toolbar customization
• Added RTL UI support
• Added Android 11 support
• Added 12 new languages
• Updated Apktool to 2.5.0
• Updated Android SDK Build Tools to 29.0.3
• Fixed installation of an unsaved project
• Fixed confirmation when closing modified tabs
• Fixed crash on empty application title
• Fixed potential duplicates in recent list

Windows

• Added Explorer integration
• Updated Qt to 5.15.2
• Removed bundled Visual C++ Redistributable

macOS

• Updated minimum version to 10.13 (High Sierra)
• Updated Qt to 5.15.2

APK Cloning

One of the most anticipated features, the ability to clone APK, is finally here! It allows you to install multiple copies of an Android application on your device by changing the package name.

Currently, this function is in an experimental state, which means that certain applications cannot be cloned or might have unexpected behavior. Developing this feature took a very long time since there is no consistent algorithm for renaming disassembled packages. However, a good start has been made, and we hope that our community will make its contribution.

You can join the discussion and share your knowledge, thoughts, and ideas here.

Signature Viewer

Now you can easily browse through the list of certificates used to sign an APK. Currently the signature viewer verifies the following signature schemes:

• JAR Signature (v1)
• APK Signature (v2)
• APK Signature (v3)

Command Line Parameters

Run APK Editor Studio with certain arguments to immediately start optimizing, signing, and/or installing your APK.

Unpack

• apk-editor-studio your.apk

Optimize

• apk-editor-studio -o your.apk or
• apk-editor-studio -z your.apk or
• apk-editor-studio --optimize your.apk or
• apk-editor-studio --zipalign your.apk

Sign

• apk-editor-studio -s your.apk or
• apk-editor-studio --sign your.apk

Install

• apk-editor-studio -i your.apk or
• apk-editor-studio --install your.apk

Examples

• apk-editor-studio your.apk – unpack your APK
• apk-editor-studio -os your.apk – optimize and sign your APK
• apk-editor-studio -osi your.apk – optimize, sign, and install your APK
• apk-editor-studio first.apk second.apk – unpack multiple apps
• apk-editor-studio -i first.apk second.apk – install multiple apps

Sign and Optimize APK Without Unpacking

Previously, if you just wanted to sign or optimize your APK, you had to wait for the unpacking process to completely finish. Now there are dedicated options similar to the existing "Install External APK" action – "Sign External APK" and "Optimize External APK".

Multi-Window Mode

APK Editor Studio now allows you to open multiple instances of the main window. Each instance reuses the project pool and other shared components, so the extra system load is reduced to a minimum. To open a new window, press Ctrl + N (⌘ + N on macOS). On Windows and Linux platforms, you can also turn on the multi-window mode in case you want to open subsequent APK files in separate windows by default.

System Dark Mode Support

APK Editor Studio for Linux and macOS now follows the system dark mode setting.

APK Editor Studio dark mode on macOS

On a Linux environment, applying a dark theme resulted in an inconsistent appearance since some of the in-app colors were based on the light GUI. So now, instead of using fixed color values, APK Editor Studio checks the system theme and adjusts the custom application colors dynamically. Revised elements:

• Welcome screen gradient and buttons
• Log panel success and error lines
• Code editors color scheme
• Contrast icons

APK Editor Studio dark mode on KDE

Note that some platforms and environments don't (fully) support the dark mode. For example, Windows doesn't apply the corresponding system setting for Win32 applications, and a GNOME environment might need additional configuration to make Qt apps follow the GTK theme. However, there are plans on adding the custom in-app dark theme in future releases.

Relative Tool Paths

Now you can specify relative paths to the third-party tools. This is especially important for the APK Editor Studio portable builds, where relying on absolute paths reduces the portability of the application.

RTL Support

This release brings you lots of new translations. Some of these languages are right-to-left, so for a better user experience, APK Editor Studio will properly place the UI elements according to the script direction.

12 New Languages

Our amazing community has prepared 12 new translations for APK Editor Studio. You can see the list of the contributors here. Thank you!

• Azerbaijani
• Chinese (Simplified)
• Czech
• English (British)
• French
• Hebrew
• Hungarian
• Indonesian
• Italian
• Korean
• Kurdish
• Persian

Windows Explorer Integration

This useful new feature for Windows users adds the APK Editor Studio actions to the context menu for the APK files. It allows you to sign, optimize, or install applications directly from your Explorer.

Special Thanks

This release became available with generous support of these people. Thank you all for your contribution!