diff --git a/apex/apex.go b/apex/apex.go
index 7ffa6cc..80fb782 100644
--- a/apex/apex.go
+++ b/apex/apex.go
@@ -130,6 +130,10 @@
 	// symlinking to the system libs. Default is true.
 	Updatable *bool
 
+	// Whether this APEX can use platform APIs or not. Can be set to true only when `updatable:
+	// false`. Default is false.
+	Platform_apis *bool
+
 	// Whether this APEX is installable to one of the partitions like system, vendor, etc.
 	// Default: true.
 	Installable *bool
@@ -919,6 +923,7 @@
 		MinSdkVersion:     minSdkVersion,
 		RequiredSdks:      a.RequiredSdks(),
 		Updatable:         a.Updatable(),
+		UsePlatformApis:   a.UsePlatformApis(),
 		InApexVariants:    []string{mctx.ModuleName()}, // could be com.android.foo
 		InApexModules:     []string{a.Name()},          // could be com.mycompany.android.foo
 		ApexContents:      []*android.ApexContents{apexContents},
@@ -1321,6 +1326,10 @@
 	return proptools.BoolDefault(a.properties.Updatable, true)
 }
 
+func (a *apexBundle) UsePlatformApis() bool {
+	return proptools.BoolDefault(a.properties.Platform_apis, false)
+}
+
 // getCertString returns the name of the cert that should be used to sign this APEX. This is
 // basically from the "certificate" property, but could be overridden by the device config.
 func (a *apexBundle) getCertString(ctx android.BaseModuleContext) string {
@@ -2374,6 +2383,9 @@
 		if String(a.properties.Min_sdk_version) == "" {
 			ctx.PropertyErrorf("updatable", "updatable APEXes should set min_sdk_version as well")
 		}
+		if a.UsePlatformApis() {
+			ctx.PropertyErrorf("updatable", "updatable APEXes can't use platform APIs")
+		}
 		a.checkJavaStableSdkVersion(ctx)
 		a.checkClasspathFragments(ctx)
 	}