APKTool 2.4 is now available for decompiling Android apps

APKTool is an incredibly useful reverse engineering tool from developer ibotpeaches. It can be used to decompile most Android apps into smali, which can then be converted to Java for easier analysis. It’s the go-to tool for most independent developers looking to mod apps or uncover their secrets. We frequently use it when analyzing apps for new features.

The developer behind the tool recently announced an update to version 2.4, bringing lots of bug fixes and changes. One such fix resolves the issue in which the PlatformBuildValue was set to an unexpected value, which was a big pain for many developers trying to recompile apps.

APKTool Version 2.4 Changelog

• Updated baksmali/smali to v2.2.6
• Fixed issue with new restriction with non-empty ids.xml file. (Thanks gino247)
• Fixed issue with PlatformBuildVersion properties changing to unexpected values. (Thanks gino247)
• Fixed issue with pending v5 Gradle upgrade, by taking point release v4.10.2. (Thanks Frieder Blumle)
• Added no-crunch support via new parameters – -nc | –no-crunch. (Thanks Novex)
• Added automatic tests on Windows environment.
• Fixed issue when decoding .xsd files between aapt1/aapt2.
• Fixed issue with decoding applications with a malformed chunk header. (Thanks sebras)
• Fixed issue with Mac scripts stealing focus.
• Fixed issue with array resource bag items having wrong type. (Thanks vbarthel-fr)
• Updated baksmali/smali to v2.2.6
• Fixed issue with 9patch images missing vertical or horizontal divs. (Thanks IgorEisberg)
• Fixed issue with resolving references to non-standard framework files. (Thanks IgorEisberg)
• Fixed issue with resolving SDK Version Codes that were references. (Thanks IgorEisberg)
• Added 32bit binaries for unix and win for aapt1/aapt2.
• Added ability for api-level to be passed to smali. (Thanks IgorEisberg)

APKTool is an invaluable tool for the XDA community. Thanks to it, we can bring you news on the latest software features from Google, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and others. Developers use it when making Google Camera ports, too. We appreciate APKTool and all that’s possible because of it.

Read more about APKTool in the Android Software Development forum