Installing downloaded apks from external site

Question

I have just downloaded APK files of a software from a website to my laptop. My question is if I install this on my phone, will it be installed in the phone memory or in the SD card memory?

I couldn't find any related question, so asking here.

Answer 1

Any apk files installed in your device usually stay on its internal memory. The apk configuration defines whether the app should stay on the mobile's internal memory completely, or it may shift a few resource files (images, etc.) to the sd card. The main files (technically: the java class files and layout files) remain on the internal memory of the device.

This may be changed if your device is rooted, and you have partitioned your sd card to allow installations on it (technically: EXT4 extension replacing the FAT32 extension of a part of your sdcard, which won't be accessible to the user from the device as a Mass Storage).

Apps2SD is an app which eases the process of shifting apps capable of transferring resources from apk to sdcard, so as to free up some memory on the internal memory. The app does not help install apks on sd card.
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

It very much depends on the app you want to install, and what the developer of that app decided to be the preferred install location. See: App Install Location on developer.android.com:

Beginning with API Level 8, you can allow your application to be installed on the external storage (for example, the device's SD card). This is an optional feature you can declare for your application with the android:installLocation manifest attribute.

[...]

If you declare "preferExternal", you request that your application be installed on the external storage, but the system does not guarantee that your application will be installed on the external storage. If the external storage is full, the system will install it on the internal storage. The user can also move your application between the two locations.

If you declare "auto", you indicate that your application may be installed on the external storage, but you don't have a preference of install location. The system will decide where to install your application based on several factors. The user can also move your application between the two locations.

The linked article contains a lot more details, but they are rather targeted at the developer. Above quotes however are the ones referring to your question. For a final answer, there are two choices: a) simply try and see, or b) ask the developer.

Answer 3

It will be installed on your phone memory(internal SD card).
But you can move that app to your External memory card using this application.