I am currently developing an offline app with OSMDroid and I'm starting to ask myself some questions about the storage space the app is going to take.
Previously we had the MBTiles and the database stored at the root of the internal memory and we installed it apart from the app, but we judged it insecure and inconveniant.
Now, the files are compiled with the app and are installed on start-up in the private folder of the app itself.
Here's my question, does it mean that technically both files are duplicated because there is one version compiled in the app and one in the internal memory, thus taking more storage space?
Is there a better solution for this?
After multiple attempts to find a standard way to not duplicate the resources files, I found that I will have to use expansion files.
According to https://developer.android.com/google/play/expansion-files.html, APK files may not exceed 100MB, after that limit you have to use expansion files that will be downloaded with the installer from the play store.
Expansion files are already in a reachable location for OSMdroid so no need to copy them in the app's private folder.
However since my app might be for a restricted-public only and installation will be done manually, I thought of building a separate app that will install the app + expansion files to give less hassle to my clients.