diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e63336601e..650ef17967 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ Windows/ipch
 Windows/bin-release
 Windows/win-version.h
 Windows/win-version-*.tmp
-android/assets
 ext/_Output
 android/lint.xml
 PPSSPPWindows64.exe.manifest
@@ -96,11 +95,6 @@ __testcompare.png
 vt_ref.bmp
 GameLogNotes.txt
 screenshots
-android/assets/lang
-android/assets/flash0
-android/assets/flash1
-android/assets/flash2
-android/assets/flash3
 font_atlas.zim.png
 asciifont_atlas.zim.png
 ppge_atlas.zim.png
diff --git a/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj b/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj
index 5d673ac232..970a86d586 100644
--- a/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj
+++ b/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj
@@ -1071,7 +1071,6 @@
     <None Include="..\.github\workflows\manual_generate_apk.yml" />
     <None Include="..\.github\workflows\tarball.yml" />
     <None Include="..\AGENTS.md" />
-    <None Include="..\android\buildassets.sh" />
     <None Include="..\android\git-version-gen.sh" />
     <None Include="..\android\jni\Android.mk" />
     <None Include="..\android\jni\Application.mk" />
diff --git a/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj.filters b/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj.filters
index eca79d0228..64e7251cab 100644
--- a/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj.filters
+++ b/Windows/PPSSPP.vcxproj.filters
@@ -695,9 +695,6 @@
     <None Include="..\.github\workflows\generateDockerLayer.yml">
       <Filter>Build\Actions</Filter>
     </None>
-    <None Include="..\android\buildassets.sh">
-      <Filter>Build</Filter>
-    </None>
     <None Include="..\ios\Launch Screen.storyboard">
       <Filter>Other Platforms\iOS</Filter>
     </None>
diff --git a/android/README.TXT b/android/README.TXT
deleted file mode 100644
index 082844e7aa..0000000000
--- a/android/README.TXT
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-================================================================
-
-NOTE: These are legacy instructions for building using ndk-build.
-
-We mostly only use this on CI because it's faster than gradle.
-There might also be some holdouts around still using eclipse.
-
-================================================================
-
-First, build the C++ static library:
-
-> cd android
-> ./ab.sh
-Or
-> ./ab.cmd
-
-as appropriate.
-
-Start Eclipse, import the android directory as an existing project
-You need to also load the "native" project into your eclipse workspace
-Build and run. 
-
-If you modify the C++ code, you need to rebuild the static library, of
-course. To get Eclipse to understand that you have in fact changed something
-if you haven't also changed any Java code, just add a space character to 
-PPSSPPActivity.java, or right click the project and choose Refresh, and then
-relaunch the app on the device.
-
-A real Android device is strongly recommended for testing. Don't trust
-the emulator.
diff --git a/android/ab-ant.sh b/android/ab-ant.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index cb3f172c46..0000000000
--- a/android/ab-ant.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-ant debug
-adb install -r bin/PPSSPP-debug.apk
-adb shell am start -n org.ppsspp.ppsspp/org.ppsspp.ppsspp.PpssppActivity
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/android/ab.cmd b/android/ab.cmd
index 6d955f625a..13ceb0c183 100644
--- a/android/ab.cmd
+++ b/android/ab.cmd
@@ -1,15 +1,3 @@
-mkdir assets > nul
-xcopy ..\assets\flash0 assets\flash0\ /s /y <d.txt
-xcopy ..\assets\lang assets\lang\ /s /y <d.txt
-xcopy ..\assets\shaders assets\shaders\ /s /y <d.txt
-xcopy ..\assets\themes assets\themes\ /s /y <d.txt
-xcopy ..\assets\ui_images assets\ui_images\ /s /y <d.txt
-copy ..\assets\*.ini assets\
-copy ..\assets\*.ttf assets\
-copy ..\assets\*.png assets\
-copy ..\assets\*.zim assets\
-copy ..\assets\*.meta assets\
-copy ..\assets\*.wav assets\
 SET NDK=C:\Android\sdk\ndk\29.0.14206865
 REM SET NDK=C:\Android\ndk
 SET NDK_MODULE_PATH=..\ext
diff --git a/android/ab.sh b/android/ab.sh
index 9d58afd96e..1364fe0261 100755
--- a/android/ab.sh
+++ b/android/ab.sh
@@ -1,14 +1 @@
-mkdir -p assets
-cp -r ../assets/flash0 assets/
-cp -r ../assets/lang assets/
-cp -r ../assets/shaders assets/
-cp -r ../assets/themes assets/
-cp -r ../assets/debugger assets/
-cp -r ../assets/upload assets/
-cp -r ../assets/ui_images assets/
-cp ../assets/*.ini assets/
-cp ../assets/*.ttf assets/
-cp ../assets/*.zim assets/
-cp ../assets/*.meta assets/
-cp ../assets/*.wav assets/
 NDK_MODULE_PATH=../ext $NDK/ndk-build -j$(nproc 2>/dev/null || echo 4) $*
diff --git a/android/ant-build.bat b/android/ant-build.bat
deleted file mode 100644
index 0e9d314dfe..0000000000
--- a/android/ant-build.bat
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-set ANDROID_HOME=path/to/android-sdk/
-set NDK=path/to/android-ndk/
-ant release -Dndkbuildopt="-j6"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/android/build.sh b/android/build.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index f64de1c028..0000000000
--- a/android/build.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-cmake .. && make && (cd ../jni; ../build/atlastool atlasscript.txt main; cd ../build) && make && (cd ../jni; ../build/phoenix; cd ../build)
diff --git a/android/build.xml b/android/build.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 857125cf8d..0000000000
--- a/android/build.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,98 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<project name="PPSSPP" default="help">
-
-    <!-- The local.properties file is created and updated by the 'android' tool.
-         It contains the path to the SDK. It should *NOT* be checked into
-         Version Control Systems. -->
-    <property file="local.properties" />
-
-    <!-- The ant.properties file can be created by you. It is only edited by the
-         'android' tool to add properties to it.
-         This is the place to change some Ant specific build properties.
-         Here are some properties you may want to change/update:
-
-         source.dir
-             The name of the source directory. Default is 'src'.
-         out.dir
-             The name of the output directory. Default is 'bin'.
-
-         For other overridable properties, look at the beginning of the rules
-         files in the SDK, at tools/ant/build.xml
-
-         Properties related to the SDK location or the project target should
-         be updated using the 'android' tool with the 'update' action.
-
-         This file is an integral part of the build system for your
-         application and should be checked into Version Control Systems.
-
-         -->
-    <property file="ant.properties" />
-
-    <!-- if sdk.dir was not set from one of the property file, then
-         get it from the ANDROID_HOME env var.
-         This must be done before we load project.properties since
-         the proguard config can use sdk.dir -->
-    <property environment="env" />
-    <condition property="sdk.dir" value="${env.ANDROID_HOME}">
-        <isset property="env.ANDROID_HOME" />
-    </condition>
-
-    <!-- this property is needed to run the script via ANT. It requires the NDK
-        environment variable which is accessed by ant during the build process -->
-    <condition property="ndk.dir" value="${env.NDK}">
-        <isset property="env.NDK" />
-    </condition>
-    
-    <!-- The project.properties file is created and updated by the 'android'
-         tool, as well as ADT.
-
-         This contains project specific properties such as project target, and library
-         dependencies. Lower level build properties are stored in ant.properties
-         (or in .classpath for Eclipse projects).
-
-         This file is an integral part of the build system for your
-         application and should be checked into Version Control Systems. -->
-    <loadproperties srcFile="project.properties" />
-
-    <!-- quick check on sdk.dir -->
-    <fail
-            message="sdk.dir is missing. Make sure to generate local.properties using 'android update project' or to inject it through the ANDROID_HOME environment variable."
-            unless="sdk.dir"
-    />
-
-    <!--
-        Import per project custom build rules if present at the root of the project.
-        This is the place to put custom intermediary targets such as:
-            -pre-build
-            -pre-compile
-            -post-compile (This is typically used for code obfuscation.
-                           Compiled code location: ${out.classes.absolute.dir}
-                           If this is not done in place, override ${out.dex.input.absolute.dir})
-            -post-package
-            -post-build
-            -pre-clean
-    -->
-    <import file="custom_rules.xml" optional="true" />
-
-    <!-- Import the actual build file.
-
-         To customize existing targets, there are two options:
-         - Customize only one target:
-             - copy/paste the target into this file, *before* the
-               <import> task.
-             - customize it to your needs.
-         - Customize the whole content of build.xml
-             - copy/paste the content of the rules files (minus the top node)
-               into this file, replacing the <import> task.
-             - customize to your needs.
-
-         ***********************
-         ****** IMPORTANT ******
-         ***********************
-         In all cases you must update the value of version-tag below to read 'custom' instead of an integer,
-         in order to avoid having your file be overridden by tools such as "android update project"
-    -->
-    <!-- version-tag: 1 -->
-    <import file="${sdk.dir}/tools/ant/build.xml" />
-
-</project>
diff --git a/android/buildassets.sh b/android/buildassets.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 2c357d32ff..0000000000
--- a/android/buildassets.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-mkdir -p assets
-cp ../assets/*.zim assets/
-cp ../assets/*.meta assets/
-cp ../assets/*.wav assets/
-cp ../assets/*.ini assets/
-cp ../assets/*.ttf assets/
-cp -r ../assets/flash0 assets/
-cp -r ../assets/lang assets/
-cp -r ../assets/ui_images assets/
diff --git a/android/custom_rules.xml b/android/custom_rules.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 292a376101..0000000000
--- a/android/custom_rules.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<project name="PPSSPP" default="help">
-    <condition property="ndkbuild_exe" value="ndk-build.cmd" else="ndk-build">
-        <os family="windows" />
-    </condition>
-    <property name="ndkbuildopt" value=""/>
-    <target name="-pre-build">
-        <exec executable="${ndk.dir}/${ndkbuild_exe}" failonerror="true">
-            <arg line="-j4 ${ndkbuildopt}"/>
-            <env key="NDK_MODULE_PATH" path="../ext"/>
-        </exec>
-    </target>
-    <target name="clean" depends="android_rules.clean">
-        <exec executable="${ndk.dir}/${ndkbuild_exe}" failonerror="true">
-            <arg value="clean"/>
-            <env key="NDK_MODULE_PATH" path="../ext"/>
-        </exec>
-    </target>
-</project>
diff --git a/android/proguard-project.txt b/android/proguard-project.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index f2fe1559a2..0000000000
--- a/android/proguard-project.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-# To enable ProGuard in your project, edit project.properties
-# to define the proguard.config property as described in that file.
-#
-# Add project specific ProGuard rules here.
-# By default, the flags in this file are appended to flags specified
-# in ${sdk.dir}/tools/proguard/proguard-android.txt
-# You can edit the include path and order by changing the ProGuard
-# include property in project.properties.
-#
-# For more details, see
-#   http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/proguard.html
-
-# Add any project specific keep options here:
-
-# If your project uses WebView with JS, uncomment the following
-# and specify the fully qualified class name to the JavaScript interface
-# class:
-#-keepclassmembers class fqcn.of.javascript.interface.for.webview {
-#   public *;
-#}
diff --git a/android/project.properties b/android/project.properties
deleted file mode 100644
index 5e19b7a0b1..0000000000
--- a/android/project.properties
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-# This file is automatically generated by Android Tools.
-# Do not modify this file -- YOUR CHANGES WILL BE ERASED!
-#
-# This file must be checked in Version Control Systems.
-#
-# To customize properties used by the Ant build system edit
-# "ant.properties", and override values to adapt the script to your
-# project structure.
-#
-
-# Project target.
-target=android-26
diff --git a/android/symx86.cmd b/android/symx86.cmd
deleted file mode 100644
index df2f21c925..0000000000
--- a/android/symx86.cmd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-adb logcat | %NDK%\ndk-stack -sym obj/local/x86
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/building.md b/docs/building.md
index ac4be71e47..af90594c91 100644
--- a/docs/building.md
+++ b/docs/building.md
@@ -61,6 +61,13 @@ bug, since CI runs the equivalent of `UnitTest.exe all` on every commit across m
 platforms without apparent issue. If `all`/`Jit` hangs in your environment, run every other
 test by name instead (skip `Jit`) to still get real coverage.
 
+## Android assets
+
+The APK's `assets/` directory is the repo-root `assets/` directory, wired up by
+`assets.directories.add("../assets")` in `android/build.gradle.kts`. There's no copy step, so a file dropped
+in `assets/` ships as-is. `ndk-build` doesn't read assets at all, and nothing populates `android/assets/` -
+if you have one, it's a leftover from the old Ant/Eclipse build and is ignored.
+
 ## Legacy Android build (android/jni)
 
 There is a legacy Android build using the raw NDK build system (`android/jni/Android.mk` + `ndk-build`), separate from the
@@ -69,8 +76,8 @@ useful for quick test builds (it can build `ppsspp_headless` and the unit tests
 by default, but if you want to test-build it locally:
 
 - The NDK path is hardcoded in `android/ab.cmd` (Windows) or passed via the `NDK` env var to `android/ab.sh` (POSIX).
-  It should match the `ndkVersion` in `android/build.gradle.kts`. The scripts copy assets first, then run ndk-build with
-  a core count derived from the machine (nproc / %NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS%).
+  It should match the `ndkVersion` in `android/build.gradle.kts`. The scripts just run ndk-build with a core count
+  derived from the machine (nproc / %NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS%).
 - Example (POSIX): `cd android && NDK=/path/to/ndk ./ab.sh APP_ABI=arm64-v8a HEADLESS=1`
 - The `ppsspp_headless` executable ends up in `android/libs/<abi>/`.