I'm using Google Play Store to distribute an app.
For a certain issue, I would like to install an OLDER version of my app to one of the client's device.
I'm struggling to do so, is there any way to do that?
No matter how and which "testing" method I apply, Google Play automatically shows the HIGHEST version of the app which is the "release" version ignoring the old test versions.
Creating an APK would be NO way because I need Google Play's own signature in the apk to make things work (to test the things we would like to)
Is there any way at all to distribute my OLDER app version from Google Play store?
(By the way Google's testing methods are inexpressibly unusable even apart from this problem. You never see what really happens, you cannot really manage the testing channels the GUI is miserable the notification email is late the testing is slow and painful you don't see the version number in the Google Play Store, there are like 3 methods to do so and the difference between them is not self explaining, I give 1 start to the developers who made these parts of Google Play I hope they read this.)
Thanks in advance.
From Google Play Console go to App bundle explorer
Then choose the version you want to install
Go to Downloads tab
click on Copy sharable link
install it from you device using this link
Note: the device's Google Play account should be an internal tester and enable internal testing from Google Play on this device.
Related
We're trying to automate the release of our app to the Mac App Store. I've been trying to achieve this using fastlane. I managed to get this tool working for submitting the apps' metadata (release notes, screenshots etc).
I can also build the app using the gym module, however this results in a .app and not in a .pkg that is needed for submission to the App Store. Even when I use
export_method: "package"
I cannot imagine I'm the only one trying to achieve this, but I cannot find an answer if it is possible at all. And if possible, how to achieve this.
I have a (old) work in progress PR made for this - https://github.com/fastlane/fastlane/pull/12195. Majority of our users are mobile so it has been hard for me to get testing on this :). If you'd like to comment on that PR I would be happy to revive it and work with you on making this work for you!
I read about alpha/beta testing of apps in Play Developer Console. I have almost understood the concept of beta/alpha testing. Just have a question:
I want my app to be visible in Play Store but only those people can download it who are invited (like using email addresses or G+ communities). Seems like Alpha/Beta Testing hides the app from public.
But I have seen several apps (Can't think of the name) in Play Store with the text similar to This app is still in beta. Please wait until we reach more audience. And as expected there's no install button.
I want something similar to this. Public can see but only those can install who join G+ community.
Does open/closed beta testing provide such feature?
I've recently posted my Android app to Chrome Web Store using ARC Welder, and wondering about how I can make it a paid app.
Currently, for Android, I have a free version and an "unlocker" as a separate app on Google Play. The user installs the free version first, and then if he/she decides to "go pro", he/she purchases and installs the "unlocker" which talks to the free versions and activates it into "pro" mode.
So my questions:
When packaging an Android app with ARC, it runs on its own, so there is no way to have a second app ("unlocker") running in the same Android "sandbox", correct?
Is it possible for an Android / ARC app to access "purchased" state via Google Play APIs, say for checking if the user purchased the "unlocker" app on Android?
I assume that the answer is "no", at least for now:
https://developer.chrome.com/apps/getstarted_arc
Since ARC is in Beta, it doesn't support all of Google Play Services yet.
However, here are some available APIs:
Auth (OAuth2)
GCM
Google+ sign-in
Maps
Location
Ads
I don't see licensing APIs here.
I found these links on monetizing Chrome apps:
https://developer.chrome.com/webstore/money
https://developer.chrome.com/webstore/payments-iap
Even if this also applies to Chrome OS (not sure), it seems to require JavaScript coding to talk Chrome Webstore APIs. Is it possible to access those from inside the Android ARC sandbox?
Are there better options that I'm missing?
None? Should I just wait until Android ARC is fleshed out more and hope that it includes support for paid apps?
The direct answers are:
1) You can bundle up two APKs so they both run in the same sandbox. But only one of them is launched as "your app". It is free to then launch or otherwise use the second APK as it sees fit.
2) But as you noticed, there is no way to easily check for a purchase/license right now.
Your best bet may be to wait for the Google Play Services license APIs to be implemented.
When developing online game I would really like to avoid supporting different protocol versions. The server can check the version of a client and deny login until the client gets updated. But the problem here is that I need the app update to become available simultanously at the same time on AppStore and Google Play.
Is it possible to do? How do you solve such versioning problems?
Well, I am not sure how it works for the GooglePlayStore but if you choose Developer Release instead of automatic then you could just release it in the moment it approves on the GooglePlayStore and about 30mins. later your iOS app will be online and available as well. That's what I'd do.
Now I have an around 30M app, when I need to make an update for the app ,I want to update only a little part of the app,what shall I do with the app? Should I make a updating app for the app or should I make it like downloading the whole new app every time?
I forgot to say that it is an app running on the Mac OS, not iOS.
Without more context, the best answer is "It depends". Off the top of my head, I can think of these factors which would affect your decision:
How many users use this app? What is
the bandwidth availability of these
users?
Do you expect the users to download and install the app? Or do they need
an automatic update? Has anybody
asked for an automatic update?
Is it a desktop app or is it a client server kind of situation?
Have you already split up the app into components so that you can ship
just a small component, replace it in
the deployed app and expect the whole
thing to work?
Edit: Based on context in the comments: Since the app is a playing music from some online source, I'm assuming it'll need to connect to some central server to play the music. You could make a small wrapper application around the music app. You'll need to change the installer such that the wrapper app's icon appears on the desktop and any launchers you have. So the user will launch the wrapper app first instead of your music player app. The wrapper app can then contact the central server and ask for the latest version of the music app. If the installed version of the music app is older, then the wrapper app can either automatically download the latest version of the music app or prompt the user to download it or .... Once the download and install finishes the wrapper should launch the music app as well. Depending on your situation, you can get fancy and make the wrapper app download only the changed portion of the music app, etc.