While standard x86 images are preferred for speed on Intel/AMD computers, arm64 images are required when simulating the exact behavior of a physical mobile device on an architecture like Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) or when testing apps that rely on specific ARM native libraries (.so files) that cannot be translated on x86.
For developers and advanced users, working with system-arm64-ab.img.xz can be an essential part of customizing and optimizing their Android experience. Here are a few common use cases: system-arm64-ab.img.xz android 12
This erases userdata and cache. Without this, your device will likely bootloop. While standard x86 images are preferred for speed
system-arm64-ab.img.xz is a compressed Generic System Image (GSI) system-arm64-ab.img.xz android 12