diff --git a/android-template/app/build.gradle b/android-template/app/build.gradle
index ccee48b82b..641d2a8091 100644
--- a/android-template/app/build.gradle
+++ b/android-template/app/build.gradle
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
 
 android {
-    compileSdkVersion 29
+    compileSdkVersion rootProject.ext.compileSdkVersion
     defaultConfig {
         applicationId "com.getcapacitor.app"
-        minSdkVersion 21
-        targetSdkVersion 29
+        minSdkVersion rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion
+        targetSdkVersion rootProject.ext.targetSdkVersion
         versionCode 1
         versionName "1.0"
         testInstrumentationRunner "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
@@ -19,9 +19,6 @@ android {
 }
 
 repositories {
-    maven {
-        url  "https://dl.bintray.com/ionic-team/capacitor"
-    }
     flatDir{
         dirs '../capacitor-cordova-android-plugins/src/main/libs', 'libs'
     }
@@ -29,11 +26,11 @@ repositories {
 
 dependencies {
     implementation fileTree(include: ['*.jar'], dir: 'libs')
-    implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.1.0'
+    implementation "androidx.appcompat:appcompat:$androidxAppCompatVersion"
     implementation project(':capacitor-android')
-    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.12'
-    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.ext:junit:1.1.1'
-    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.2.0'
+    testImplementation "junit:junit:$junitVersion"
+    androidTestImplementation "androidx.test.ext:junit:$androidxJunitVersion"
+    androidTestImplementation "androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:$androidxEspressoCoreVersion"
     implementation project(':capacitor-cordova-android-plugins')
 }
 
diff --git a/android-template/build.gradle b/android-template/build.gradle
index 300eb889fa..160481cb88 100644
--- a/android-template/build.gradle
+++ b/android-template/build.gradle
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ buildscript {
     }
 }
 
+apply from: "variables.gradle"
+
 allprojects {
     repositories {
         google()
diff --git a/android-template/variables.gradle b/android-template/variables.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..acfd26ce5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android-template/variables.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+ext {
+    minSdkVersion = 21
+    compileSdkVersion = 29
+    targetSdkVersion = 29
+    androidxAppCompatVersion = '1.1.0'
+    androidxCoreVersion =  '1.2.0'
+    androidxMaterialVersion =  '1.1.0-rc02'
+    androidxBrowserVersion =  '1.2.0'
+    androidxLocalbroadcastmanagerVersion =  '1.0.0'
+    firebaseMessagingVersion =  '20.1.2'
+    playServicesLocationVersion =  '17.0.0'
+    junitVersion =  '4.12'
+    androidxJunitVersion =  '1.1.1'
+    androidxEspressoCoreVersion =  '3.2.0'
+    cordovaAndroidVersion =  '7.0.0'
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/android/capacitor/build.gradle b/android/capacitor/build.gradle
index be62e7cb9d..73f02fbd4d 100644
--- a/android/capacitor/build.gradle
+++ b/android/capacitor/build.gradle
@@ -1,3 +1,18 @@
+ext {
+    androidxAppCompatVersion = project.hasProperty('androidxAppCompatVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxAppCompatVersion : '1.1.0'
+    androidxCoreVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxCoreVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxCoreVersion : '1.2.0'
+    androidxMaterialVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxMaterialVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxMaterialVersion : '1.1.0-rc02'
+    androidxBrowserVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxBrowserVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxBrowserVersion : '1.2.0'
+    androidxLocalbroadcastmanagerVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxLocalbroadcastmanagerVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxLocalbroadcastmanagerVersion : '1.0.0'
+    firebaseMessagingVersion =  project.hasProperty('firebaseMessagingVersion') ? rootProject.ext.firebaseMessagingVersion : '20.1.2'
+    playServicesLocationVersion =  project.hasProperty('playServicesLocationVersion') ? rootProject.ext.playServicesLocationVersion : '17.0.0'
+    junitVersion =  project.hasProperty('junitVersion') ? rootProject.ext.junitVersion : '4.12'
+    androidxJunitVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxJunitVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxJunitVersion : '1.1.1'
+    androidxEspressoCoreVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxEspressoCoreVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxEspressoCoreVersion : '3.2.0'
+    cordovaAndroidVersion =  project.hasProperty('cordovaAndroidVersion') ? rootProject.ext.cordovaAndroidVersion : '7.0.0'
+}
+
+
 buildscript {
     repositories {
         google()
@@ -15,10 +30,10 @@ apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
 apply plugin: 'com.novoda.bintray-release'
 
 android {
-    compileSdkVersion 29
+    compileSdkVersion project.hasProperty('compileSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.compileSdkVersion : 29
     defaultConfig {
-        minSdkVersion 21
-        targetSdkVersion 29
+        minSdkVersion project.hasProperty('minSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion : 21
+        targetSdkVersion targetSdkVersion = project.hasProperty('targetSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.targetSdkVersion : 29
         versionCode 1
         versionName "1.0"
         testInstrumentationRunner "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
@@ -46,17 +61,17 @@ repositories {
 
 dependencies {
     implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
-    implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.1.0'
-    implementation 'androidx.core:core:1.2.0'
-    implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.1.0-rc02'
-    implementation 'androidx.browser:browser:1.2.0'
-    implementation 'androidx.localbroadcastmanager:localbroadcastmanager:1.0.0'
-    implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:18.0.0'
-    implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:17.0.0'
-    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.12'
-    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.ext:junit:1.1.1'
-    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.2.0'
-    implementation 'org.apache.cordova:framework:7.0.0'
+    implementation "androidx.appcompat:appcompat:$androidxAppCompatVersion"
+    implementation "androidx.core:core:$androidxCoreVersion"
+    implementation "com.google.android.material:material:$androidxMaterialVersion"
+    implementation "androidx.browser:browser:$androidxBrowserVersion"
+    implementation "androidx.localbroadcastmanager:localbroadcastmanager:$androidxLocalbroadcastmanagerVersion"
+    implementation "com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:$firebaseMessagingVersion"
+    implementation "com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:$playServicesLocationVersion"
+    testImplementation "junit:junit:$junitVersion"
+    androidTestImplementation "androidx.test.ext:junit:$androidxJunitVersion"
+    androidTestImplementation "androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:$androidxEspressoCoreVersion"
+    implementation "org.apache.cordova:framework:$cordovaAndroidVersion"
 }
 
 def version = System.getenv("BINTRAY_PKG_VERSION")
@@ -73,4 +88,4 @@ publish {
     }
     desc = 'Capacitor Android Runtime'
     website = 'https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor'
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/capacitor-cordova-android-plugins/build.gradle b/capacitor-cordova-android-plugins/build.gradle
index b249603b47..86dbdb5df0 100644
--- a/capacitor-cordova-android-plugins/build.gradle
+++ b/capacitor-cordova-android-plugins/build.gradle
@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ buildscript {
 apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
 
 android {
-    compileSdkVersion 29
+    compileSdkVersion project.hasProperty('compileSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.compileSdkVersion : 29
     defaultConfig {
-        minSdkVersion 21
-        targetSdkVersion 29
+        minSdkVersion project.hasProperty('minSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion : 21
+        targetSdkVersion targetSdkVersion = project.hasProperty('targetSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.targetSdkVersion : 29
         versionCode 1
         versionName "1.0"
     }
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ repositories {
 
 dependencies {
     implementation fileTree(dir: 'src/main/libs', include: ['*.jar'])
-    implementation 'org.apache.cordova:framework:7.0.0'
+    implementation "org.apache.cordova:framework:$cordovaAndroidVersion"
     // SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES START
     
     // SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES END
diff --git a/cli/src/android/update.ts b/cli/src/android/update.ts
index c7cec990e0..0a7d24b3d1 100644
--- a/cli/src/android/update.ts
+++ b/cli/src/android/update.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { Config } from '../config';
 import { checkPlatformVersions, logFatal, resolveNode, runTask } from '../common';
 import { getAndroidPlugins } from './common';
 import { checkAndInstallDependencies, handleCordovaPluginsJS, writeCordovaAndroidManifest } from '../cordova';
-import { convertToUnixPath, copySync, readFileAsync, removeSync, writeFileAsync} from '../util/fs';
+import { convertToUnixPath, copySync, existsSync, readFileAsync, removeSync, writeFileAsync} from '../util/fs';
 import { join, relative, resolve } from 'path';
 import { Plugin, PluginType, getAllElements, getFilePath, getPlatformElement, getPluginPlatform, getPluginType, getPlugins, printPlugins } from '../plugin';
 
@@ -82,9 +82,7 @@ project(':${getGradlePackageName(p.id)}').projectDir = new File('${relativePlugi
     prefsArray = prefsArray.concat(getAllElements(p, platform, 'preference'));
   });
   let frameworkString = frameworksArray.join('\n');
-  prefsArray.map((preference: any) => {
-    frameworkString = frameworkString.replace(new RegExp(('$' + preference.$.name).replace('$', '\\$&'), 'g'), preference.$.default);
-  });
+  frameworkString = await replaceFrameworkVariables(config, prefsArray, frameworkString);
   const dependencyLines = `// DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE! IT IS GENERATED EACH TIME "capacitor update" IS RUN
 
 android {
@@ -134,9 +132,7 @@ export async function handleCordovaPluginsGradle(config: Config,  cordovaPlugins
   let frameworkString = frameworksArray.map(f => {
     return `    implementation "${f}"`;
   }).join('\n');
-  prefsArray.map((preference: any) => {
-    frameworkString = frameworkString.replace(new RegExp(('$' + preference.$.name).replace('$', '\\$&'), 'g'), preference.$.default);
-  });
+  frameworkString = await replaceFrameworkVariables(config, prefsArray, frameworkString);
   let applyString = applyArray.join('\n');
   let buildGradle = await readFileAsync(pluginsGradlePath, 'utf8');
   buildGradle = buildGradle.replace(/(SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES START)[\s\S]*(\/\/ SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES END)/, '$1\n' + frameworkString.concat('\n') + '    $2');
@@ -144,7 +140,7 @@ export async function handleCordovaPluginsGradle(config: Config,  cordovaPlugins
   await writeFileAsync(pluginsGradlePath, buildGradle);
   const cordovaVariables = `// DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE! IT IS GENERATED EACH TIME "capacitor update" IS RUN
 ext {
-  cdvMinSdkVersion = ${config.android.minVersion}
+  cdvMinSdkVersion = rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion
   // Plugin gradle extensions can append to this to have code run at the end.
   cdvPluginPostBuildExtras = []
 }`;
@@ -201,3 +197,17 @@ async function getPluginsTask(config: Config) {
     return androidPlugins;
   });
 }
+
+async function replaceFrameworkVariables(config: Config, prefsArray: Array<any>, frameworkString: string) {
+  const variablesFile = resolve(config.app.rootDir, 'android', 'variables.gradle');
+  let variablesGradle = '';
+  if (existsSync(variablesFile)) {
+    variablesGradle = await readFileAsync(variablesFile, 'utf8');
+  }
+  prefsArray.map((preference: any) => {
+    if (!variablesGradle.includes(preference.$.name)) {
+      frameworkString = frameworkString.replace(new RegExp(('$' + preference.$.name).replace('$', '\\$&'), 'g'), preference.$.default);
+    }
+  });
+  return frameworkString;
+}
diff --git a/plugin-template/android/build.gradle b/plugin-template/android/build.gradle
index 5a9ea9923b..68f49e0dc0 100644
--- a/plugin-template/android/build.gradle
+++ b/plugin-template/android/build.gradle
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+ext {
+    junitVersion =  project.hasProperty('junitVersion') ? rootProject.ext.junitVersion : '4.12'
+    androidxJunitVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxJunitVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxJunitVersion : '1.1.1'
+    androidxEspressoCoreVersion =  project.hasProperty('androidxEspressoCoreVersion') ? rootProject.ext.androidxEspressoCoreVersion : '3.2.0'
+}
+
 buildscript {
     repositories {
         google()
@@ -11,10 +17,10 @@ buildscript {
 apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
 
 android {
-    compileSdkVersion 29
+    compileSdkVersion project.hasProperty('compileSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.compileSdkVersion : 29
     defaultConfig {
-        minSdkVersion 21
-        targetSdkVersion 29
+        minSdkVersion project.hasProperty('minSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion : 21
+        targetSdkVersion = project.hasProperty('targetSdkVersion') ? rootProject.ext.targetSdkVersion : 29
         versionCode 1
         versionName "1.0"
         testInstrumentationRunner "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
@@ -40,7 +46,7 @@ repositories {
 dependencies {
     implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
     implementation project(':capacitor-android')
-    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.12'
-    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.ext:junit:1.1.1'
-    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.2.0'
+    testImplementation "junit:junit:$junitVersion"
+    androidTestImplementation "androidx.test.ext:junit:$androidxJunitVersion"
+    androidTestImplementation "androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:$androidxEspressoCoreVersion"
 }