Google Gapps – Download Gapps for Android


Gapps (or Google Apps) are the proprietary applications developed by Google and are included in most Android devices. These are the core Google applications that are found in every phone and tablet so you can sign in to Google services and download the latest apps and games from the Google Play Store. Most of these Gapps can now be found and updated by the Google Play Store app, however, you still need the complete Gapps package installed into your /system directory when working with custom ROMs. These apps are always running on an Android device under the process of com.google.process.gapps (Google Services Framework / Google Play Services)!

Previously, you only needed to download Gapps as a single package, but now, there are several variants available – depending on the number of Google apps you want to include in your Android device. The most popular variants are: pico, nano, micro, mini, full, stock and super. We will discuss these variants below in detail. And since Android is now available for a lot more platforms, Gapps can be downloaded for the following architecture platforms: ARM, ARM64, x86 and x86_64.

Why download GApps?

You need to download Gapps when you install a custom ROM on your Android phone, tablet, TV or watch. Most custom ROMs are built using the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) code. And since AOSP is completely independant of Google services, you need to install Google services and apps (GApps package) separately. Some of the popular ROMs that require GApps are: CyanogenMod / LineageOS, ParanoidAndroid, ResurrectionRemix etc.

This is also particularly useful when you need to port Google Play services on Android phones that do not have them. But installing Google apps and services on such Andorid phones is not as easy as installing just one the Gapps package. It requires a lot more than this. These packages are designed for phones that already have the framework to run them. Chinese variants of phones do not have that. In fact, since Google is banned in China, there is completely no sign of Google, Google Play or its services on those phones.

What is included in GApps package?

GApps package is a collection of services and applications that help you connect to Google with your account. Google Play Services, Google Play Framework etc. are some of the apps that are bundled along and make it possible for you to use your Google account with their apps.

Some of the Android Google apps are: Google Play Store app, Google Photos, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Play Music and Google Keep. To access Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, you may have to download and install them separately from the Google Play Store.

NOTE: If you already have any of the above mentioned apps and services installed, then you do not need to install the Gapps package on your device. Always check first in your apps list and try to login with your Google account inside that app.

Download Gapps - Google Apps

Differences in Gapps

Google icon logo

As mentioned earlier, Google Apps are available in many different variants. Let’s take a look at them and see what are the major differences among all the Gapps package available.

Google Apps for Different Platforms

The following is a list of platforms supported by Google Apps and where they could run properly. They are listed as follows:

  • ARM
  • ARM64
  • x86
  • x86_64

You can read up more in detail about these platform types and what they offer in the article below. Just FYI, most of our recent phones are all based on the ARM64 architecture. So that is what you will most probably need.

ARM

ARM used to be the most popular 32-bit platform for Android phones. Almost every chipset and phone hardware before 2016 was powered by a 32-bit platform. Phones older than that period will need Gapps based on this platform. Do not try to run Gapps that were made for the 64-bit systems before that could crash your phone.

ARM64

ARM64 is the currently used, most popular platform. Almost all new Android phones and tablets are based on the 64-bit system. Phones moved on to this system in the late 2016 and the very early adopters include: Google Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X etc. Safe to say, every flagship phone since last year is based on 64-bit.

x86

Intel logo

Intel chipsets are very uncommon on Android phones. Only a handful of devices are based on the Intel x86 platform. One device that comes to mind is Asus Zenfone. We doubt you will hardly ever need Gapps for the x86 platform.

x86_64

Gapps for the x86_64 are more commonly used on Android emulators. All these emulators are optimized and based on Intel chipsets. And since all computers now support 64-bit systems, this should be your choice of platform when downloading Gapps for Android emulators. This is useful for development purposes or if you just want to run and install Google apps on your PC or Mac.

Gapps Variants – Which one should you download?

Here is a list of the variants offered and the differences among them. From here you can decide the one you want to download and why. In our opinion, you should go with the nano variant as it is enough for you to start using Google services and apps and you can later download more apps as needed.

There are seven different variants available. They are listed as below:

  • pico
  • nano
  • micro
  • mini
  • full
  • stock
  • super

For more details on them and which you to go for, you can read all about them in the following paragraphs.

pico

This is the bare minimum set of GApps that is required to run Google services on an Android device. It only comes with a small set of Google apps like the Google Search app, YouTube, Google Play Store etc. This is a popular choice by many if you are careful about what apps use your internal storage of the phone.

nano

nano is our favourite choice of GApps. It comes with the basic Google functionality and some more that is not available from the Google Play Store. It is slightly bigger in size than pico and gets the job done well. This is the package / variant we have covered below for you to download.

micro

micro GApps package include everything from pico and nano packages. Plus, it also comes with a limited set of apps i.e. Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Assistant and some extra functionality as well.

mini

This set brings even more Google apps along with the basic functionality. You can expect most of the popular Google apps included as part of this package.

full

If you own an OEM based phone and your custom ROM already includes the stock apps from the OEM’s platform, you should go with the full GApps package. Mainly because the full package will install all the recommended Google apps and will not replace the OEM-based stock apps.

stock

This is very similar to the full package, but this will replace any non-Google apps available. For example, if there is already a Calendar app available in the ROM, it will be replaced with the Google Calendar version from the Play Store.

super

If you are like me who wants every Google app installed on the phone, then this Super package is the way to go for. It comes with every Google app that has ever shipped with a phone. You can expect apps like Google Sheets, Slides or Docs also included as part of this package.

Gapps on Google Pixel 3 XL

Download GApps – Android 10 [Latest]

You can download the appropriate package for your Android phone or tablet from the list below. We have also explained what various variants of Gapps mean and how are they different from each other. You can install these Gapps on any AOSP based custom ROM.

We have downloads available for GApps from Android 2.2 Froyo to the latest Android 10 (Android Q).

Android 10 Gapps / LineageOS 17.1

NOTE: If you need help in installing this, please read: How to Install Android 10 Gapps on Custom ROMs.

Android 9.0 Pie / LineageOS 16

Android 9.0 Pie (for Android 9.0 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 9.0.x. If you need help in installing this, please read: How to Install Gapps on Android Pie Custom ROMs.

LineageOS 15.1 / Android 8.1 Oreo

Android 8.1 – Oreo (for Android 8.1 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 8.0.x. If you need help in installing this, please read: How to Install Gapps on Android Oreo Custom ROMs.

LineageOS 15 / Android 8.0 Oreo

Android 8.0 – Oreo (for Android 8.0 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 7.0.x. If you need help in installing this, please read: How to Install Gapps on Android Oreo Custom ROMs.

LineageOS 14.1 / Android 7.1 Nougat

Android 7.1 – Nougat (for Android 7.1 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 7.0.x or 6.0.x. If you need help in installing this, please read: How to Install Gapps with Android Nougat Custom ROMs.

LineageOS 14 / CyanogenMod 14 / Android 7.0 Nougat

Android 7.0 – Nougat (for Android 7.0 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 6.0.x. If you need help in installing this, please read: How to Install Gapps with Android 7.0 Nougat Custom ROMs.

CyanogenMod 13 / Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Android 6.0 – Marshmallow (for Android 6.0 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 5.1.x. If you need help in installing this, please read: How to Install Gapps with Android 6.0 Marshmallow Custom ROMs.

Cyanogen Apps Package (C-Apps): Download Here!

CyanogenMod 12.1 / Android 5.1 Lollipop

Android 5.1 – Lollipop (for Android 5.1 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 5.0.x.

Cyanogen Apps Package (C-Apps): Download Here!

CyanogenMod 12 / Android 5.0 Lollipop

Android 5.0 – Lollipop (for Android 5.0 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 4.4.x.

CyanogenMod 11 / Android 4.4 KitKat

Android 4.4 – KitKat (for Android 4.4 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 4.3.x.

Gapps CyanogenMod 10.2

Android 4.3 – Jelly Bean (for Android 4.3 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 4.2.x.

Gapps CyanogenMod 10.1

Android 4.2.1 – 4.2.2 – Jelly Bean (for Android 4.2.2 Gapps also)

NOTE: Not compatible with Android 4.1.x.

CyanogenMod 10.0

Android 4.1.1 – 4.1.2 – Jelly Bean

CyanogenMod 9.0.x

Android 4.0.3 – 4.0.4 – Ice Cream Sandwich

CyanogenMod 7.1-2.x

Android 2.3.5 – 2.3.7 – Gingerbread

Android 2.3.4 – Gingerbread

CyanogenMod 7.0.x

Android 2.3.3 – Gingerbread

Android 2.3.2 – Gingerbread

CyanogenMod 6.0-1.x

Android 2.2.0 – 2.2.3

If any of the links above have stopped working or are dead, please feel free to contact us from our Contact page, Facebook or Twitter – and if you need help on how to install GApps for Android, then again, don’t forget to contact us for more tutorials and guides.