Meaning of "android.enableAapt2 will be removed at the end of 2018"?

The issue with platformBuildVersionName missing has been fixed recently in AAPT2.
AAPT2 it is now released it in GMaven for faster releases (so you need to have the google() dependency in your build.gradle file), so please try with android gradle plugin 3.2.0 alpha16 or newer which may already contain it. If that still doesn't work, keep an eye out for new versions, it should be released shortly (if it hasn't been yet).

As for the information about AAPT1 deprecation - it means that at some point in the near future, near the end of 2018, there will be a release of Android Gradle Plugin that removes the android.enableAapt2=false flag. AAPT1 will be completely removed then so the hacks with disabling AAPT2 won't work anymore. If you run into any other issues with AAPT2 please file them on issue tracker, so that the team can fix them before everyone will need to move away from AAPT1.

In 2019 New update From Gradle.properties remove

android.enableAapt2=false this line

it will work now.