• Breaking News

    [Android][timeline][#f39c12]

    Friday, September 28, 2018

    Home Unlabelled Weekly "anything goes" thread! Android Dev

    Weekly "anything goes" thread! Android Dev

    September 28, 2018

    Weekly "anything goes" thread! Android Dev

    Weekly "anything goes" thread!

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 05:41 AM PDT

    Here's your chance to talk about whatever!

    Although if you're thinking about getting feedback on an app, you should wait until tomorrow's App Feedback thread.

    Remember that while you can talk about any topic, being a jerk is still not allowed.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
    [link] [comments]

    The weirdness of Play Store search results, and the dire effects of app invisibility

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 09:02 AM PDT

    The weirdness of Play Store search results, and the dire effects of app invisibility

    The combination of recent changes to Play Store has created an anticompetitive situation that is killing some great niche applications by making them invisible to the normal users.

    ​

    I have tried for months to get an explanation from Google about what is happening, and more importantly advice on a solution, but all I got was condescending automated answers that were unrelated to the issue. Some users suggested that I post here as some Googlers may read this and be able to help, I do hope so.

    ​

    This is a long post with lots of detail, but you really do want to read it all.

    ​

    Let's start with what users that search for my application on Play Store see. They are seeking for a Kodi remote so enter "Kodi remote" in the search box. What comes up is this (although some may get the second image directly instead).

    ​

    https://i.redd.it/l461t7tr70p11.jpg

    Kore is given a large info card so most users will install it first as it's pushed upfront. But why is that app shown so large to the exclusion of all else? Does it have more users, better rating, longer history, the first app or the only app to be a Kodi remote? Of course none of those, but more later.

    Say that Kore is already installed, but let's imagine they do not like it, or have issues, or just want to see what else is available. Once Kore is installed when they search for "Kodi remote" they see

    ​

    ​

    https://i.redd.it/budzavft70p11.png

    ​

    Kore, the app they already have, still has a large card, but Yatse is no longer even visible on the first screen and users need to scroll a lot to see any other apps.

    This result is tied to the changes Play Store made to how the similar apps feature works. Oddly they now assume that if you have an app that does X, you do not want to see other apps that also does exactly X too. This could be true, but if the user is seeking a better app it is unhelpful.

    ​

    What is the practical effect of these changes on user behavior:

    When Kore was given the large card, Yatse lost 50% of new user installs. I assumed that despite being a clone of my application since it was named "official" there was nothing I could do.

    Then after the similar app change Yatse lost another 60% of new user installs, it was nearly invisible on Play Store and this started to be problematic for the survival of the application.

    ​

    The search statistics given by the Play Store console are amazing. I now have 7 times more visits on Play Store from users that search specifically for "Yatse" than from users searching generally "Kodi remote". I also have 10 times more visit from searching for "kodi", since there's no large card shown for that search, which is crazy as most users seeking for "kodi" are not seeking for a remote. This means only users that already know of Yatse find me, but I'm lucky to be well known so still have some installs.

    The example of the drop in Yatse installation numbers shows how this combination of changes can kill applications, not only reducing user choices now but also discouraging future app development. It is not just about my app, the current Play Store presentation of search results must be having a negative impact on all the other good Kodi remotes that exist.

    ​

    Now let's consider if Yatse is worthy of being offered to users searching for a "Kodi remote".

    Should it be Kore filling the screen, and Yatse completely absent for those with Kore installed, or would it be accurate and impartial advice to users to at least offer Yatse as well? I know this part may trigger some unrelated discussions but I'll try to be factual.

    1. Yatse is the original Kodi remote. It was built 4 years before Kore and had every single feature Kore has years in advance. It's free without ads and fully functional (although it does have some one time paid additional features). See https://yatse.tv/Kore have more details about that.
    2. Yatse is updated monthly, and has been every month over the last 7 years, Kore once per year.
    3. Yatse is rated 4.73 with 67624 ratings , when Kore is rated 4.35 with 14372 ratings.
    4. Yatse answers to all Play Store comments and provides real support (https://yatse.tv/PSC) on many channels, Kore well not and easy to see.
    5. Android vitals for Yatse are great

    ANR rate 0.01% 0.01% Top 7%

    Crash rate 0.02% 0.02% Top 2%

    (I can't tell about Kore but seeing comments it seems it's less)

    6) Yatse embraces every last Android technology that are related to the application, for example it is compiled for Android P, support Wear, support Auto, app shortcuts, direct share, quick settings titles and much more I can't remember, Kore is not that at all.

    So Yatse fully embraces everything to be the perfect Android application, and from user comments has succeeded, yet Google is quietly killing it. Those facts make it hard to understand why Yatse is now nearly invisible on Play Store.

    Even worse, despite Google having taken 30% share of any income over the last 7 years, there is no way to get any practical support from them regarding the situation.

    ​

    But wait there's more :)

    When using App Annie to analyse comments we find some interesting data:

    ​

    1. On Kore ratings, looking for posts talking about Yatse gives:Average rating for Kore: 3.1

    Most comments says (Extract):

    - Yatse is better :)

    - Try using Yatse, this app is so far from usability friendly, basically not even worth trying.

    - Yatse application is much better to use than this. Uninstalled

    ​

    2) On Yatse ratings looking for posts talking about Kore gives:

    Average rating for Yatse: 4.8

    Most comments says (Extract):

    - Excellent, so much better than the official app.

    - This app might not be official but it works better. ❤

    - Remarkable bug-free for an mobile application. Far better an much more reliable than the "official" Kodi app

    ​

    That last data seems to prove that users do prefer Yatse as their Kodi remote, and means that Google are at best doing Play Store users a great disservice by not promoting Yatse when they search for a "Kodi remote". At worse is there something else going on for them to be advertising Kore at the exclusion of all other remote apps? Surly there is a fault in the search algorithms.

    ​

    This is a long post that I fear no one from Google will read, and the end result will be that the perfect application for users needs will disappear. But at least this may give more details to all Yatse users that asked me for more details.

    ​

    If you know a Googler, it's time to contact them. I would like to at least have someone officially answer that either it's a problem and it can be fixed, or that it's normal and that they really don't care about offering users the best advice, or encouraging devs to create and support excellent apps. I really think 7 years of hard work deserve a reply from Google, that is from an actual human being that is capable of giving a definitive official answer.

    ​

    Please try to stay objective with the answers here, and avoid a futile flame war about Kore/Yatse this is not the point as this touch all other good Kodi remotes created before Kore.

    What matters for the benefit of both users and app developers, is that Play Store provide users with search results in a way that allows apps to compete fairly on merit. It is not an issue about how Google rank apps, but about visibility of viable alternatives and the consequences if that doesn't change.

    submitted by /u/Tolriq
    [link] [comments]

    Props to the Android Studio & Tools teams

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 02:25 PM PDT

    AS 3.2 and the associated tools HALVED our build times. We went from 5+ minute full builds, and 60s 1-line-change builds, down to 2+ min full builds, and 20 second iterative builds. I'm blown away.

    I know this is something you guys have worked on for years, and it's been great to see it improve, but this one really knocked it out of the park.

    submitted by /u/Wavesonics
    [link] [comments]

    Motion design doesn't have to be hard – Google Design – Medium

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 09:43 AM PDT

    My app isn't even publicly available

    Posted: 27 Sep 2018 07:23 PM PDT

    Issue: Violation of Usage of Android Advertising ID policy and section 4.8 of the Developer Distribution Agreement

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 04:13 PM PDT

    Hi, I know this have been asked several times, but I've not found a detailed answer with everything that needs to be done, plus I'm the new guy in my job in charge of the app that was removed from Google Play Store and it wasn't even developed by me so I'm a little lost. This is the message we got.

    Hi developers at ****,

    After review, *, *, has been removed from Google Play due to a policy violation. This app won't be available to users until you submit a compliant update.

    Google Play requires developers to provide a valid privacy policy when the app requests or handles sensitive user or device information. We've identified that your app collects and transmits the Android advertising identifier, which is subject to a privacy policy requirement. If your app collects the Android advertising ID, you must provide a valid privacy policy in both the designated field in the Play Console, and from within the app.

    Please, consider the following:

    • I found a getAdvertisingIdInfo() in the app.

    • In the app the user is asked a lot of personal data, like full name, sex, nationality, etc., it also uses Internet and save some stuff in the cellphone. But as far as I know that's all. It doesn't use the microphone, location services, SMS, etc. There is no monetization of any kind either.

    What should I do?

    Should I generate an App Privacy Policy here? and then what should I do? Put it in a website, link it from the app and then follow these steps and that's all?

    Please, I need a clear answer, I'm a little stressed by this.

    submitted by /u/AllahuAkbarSH
    [link] [comments]

    Simple Project to illustrate Clean Architecture using Kotlin, Dagger, Live Data, View Models, and Lifecycle Components

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 01:45 PM PDT

    UberCarAnimation: A try to make Animation of Cars on map

    Posted: 27 Sep 2018 10:09 PM PDT

    Wrote a series of blog on how I ended up making an animation of cars on map just like in Uber, OLA or Lyft in my own way. You can have a look to the articles and review:

    1. Part-I: https://android.jlelse.eu/ubercaranimation-a-try-to-make-animation-of-cars-on-map-part-i-a080cad3ad81
    2. Part-II: https://medium.com/@droid_singh/ubercaranimation-a-try-to-make-animation-of-cars-on-map-part-ii-50e142efcdc7
    submitted by /u/amanjeetsingh150
    [link] [comments]

    (React Native) Help with Expo Detach!

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 12:11 PM PDT

    We detached from Expo, a React Native CI, but are running into some issues on Android. How does the DetachBuildConstants.java file get generated? It's used in MainActivity.java to set the development URL but it needs to be ignored from my repo because that URL is different locally and I need to set up the file correctly in my CI when it builds.

    submitted by /u/micneeley14
    [link] [comments]

    Can I have multiple distribution channels for my app as in Android Management Experience but for extra organization users?

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 11:39 AM PDT

    I'm supposed to give to the company board an alternative solution to deliver software as apks to our customers with the following constraints:

    • the software must be deliviered via a private channel to a given set of costumer accounts
    • the apps have no account handling inteligence, the same app is provided to all clients not having a login process which exclude functionalities based on profiles.

    I've read about EMMs . What is need is like the Android management experience but I have unindetified users.

    submitted by /u/_vfbsilva_
    [link] [comments]

    Bypassing device ban?

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 04:20 PM PDT

    Hello,

    So recently my S8+ has been banned from making purchases in fortnite - I did too many in a short period of time, I'm guessing this is to prevent fraud. Game was downloaded from samsung's app store and uses samsung's payment gateway

    I'm 100% certain this is a device ban and not account/credit card ban

    I was wondering if such a ban is foolproof? meaning that rooting device to change values would yield no positive results?

    Can you - devs fetch device's real data despite the spoofing that root allows?

    I'm basically asking if there is a way to get myself unbanned

    EDIT: I also wanna add that contacting samsung is a waste of time.. they keep telling me to contact epic, and epic sends me back to samsung

    There is no support for their own app store/billing

    submitted by /u/ItsMango
    [link] [comments]

    Using ADB Logcat to Debug Unity Application Start Up Times

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 01:06 AM PDT

    How long to port iOS app to Android

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 07:47 AM PDT

    I recently made my first iOS app. I'm a student and the app was for buying and selling textbooks at my school. I spent about a month learning Swift and then another month and a half creating the app.

    Right now I'm still in school and working, but am trying to estimate how involved writing the Android version would be. This is important as I need to balance my school/work along with it.

    Things I have going for me: I've already created a Firebase database and know how it works. I also have a very clear understanding of what the app needs to have and look like.

    Things against me: I'll need to learn Java, but possibly worse, I hear that Android involves much more code for the layout. In xcode, though I wrote some of the layout in Swift, much of it was using the storyboard editor. Will this part take a big chunk of time for a beginner?

    submitted by /u/cmmndq
    [link] [comments]

    Thoughts on fullscreen activity auto-generated code

    Posted: 27 Sep 2018 10:12 PM PDT

    Am I the only one who thinks the code generated by AS when creating a fullscreen immersive activity is horrible? Whoever wrote this and thought it was a good enough sample code should re-consider learning to write clean code. This is messy and I don't think I would approve this in a pull request.

    submitted by /u/iamafraidicantdothat
    [link] [comments]

    Learn Kotlin gist for android developers part- 1

    Posted: 27 Sep 2018 10:15 PM PDT

    App that communicates with windows via USB

    Posted: 27 Sep 2018 08:21 PM PDT

    Not sure if this is the right place to post this but I have a question and I need to know if this is something that is feasible. I have a panel that has an embedded android on it and also allows a multitude of other devices via HDMI such as a Windows machine, Chromebook, etc...

    ​

    Now I use Word for write-ups and usually I have to get up to switch inputs to my laptop and in all honesty it is getting a bit tedious. For the sake of laziness and efficiency i'm wondering if I can create create an app on Android that once it launches, input switches to Windows and opens up Word. The idea is as if Word is running on Android when really it is just switching over to Windows and launches desktop apps. And if possible I want to do this through USB connection or TCP connection via internet, but preferably USB.

    ​

    Is this possible and if so what do I need to learn and how long? Any help is appreciated.

    submitted by /u/InsatiableBuns
    [link] [comments]

    Google AdMob ad serving has been disabled to your application

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 01:33 AM PDT

    Can anyone tell me how to fix this violation?.. Thanks in advance.

    Violation explanation

    As stated in our program policies, apps displaying Google ads should provide substantial and useful information to the user. Users should be able to easily navigate through the app to find what products, goods, or services are promised. Examples of misguided navigation include, but are not limited to:

    • False claims of downloadable or streaming content
    • Linking to content that does not exist
    • Redirecting users to irrelevant and/or misleading pages
    • Text on a page unrelated to the topic and/or business model of the app.

    For more information, please review Google's Webmaster quality guidelines and the AdMob program policies.

    AdMob publishers may not display AdMob ads on applications with content protected by copyright law unless they have the necessary legal rights to display that content. This includes apps that display copyrighted material, apps hosting copyrighted files, or apps that provide links driving traffic to sites or apps that contain copyrighted material.

    Examples of copyrighted content which may require legal rights in order to be displayed include, but are not limited to:

    • Television shows, movies, and audio files
    • Access to streaming cable or satellite television
    • Books and/or e-books
    • Video games
    • Images.

    If you did not create the content yourself or if you created it using other peoples' content as source material then you should ask yourself if you have a license or if an exception applies. For more information about potentially infringing content, please review our program policies and these tips from the policy team about avoiding copyright infringement.

    Action required: Check account for compliance

    While ad serving has been disabled to the above app, your AdMob account remains active. We suggest that you take the time to review the rest of your applications to ensure that they're in compliance with our policies, and to monitor your apps accordingly to reduce the likelihood of future policy emails from us. Additionally, please note that our team reserves the right to disable accounts at any time if we continue to see violations occurring.

    Appeals

    If you wish to appeal this disabling, please update your app with the required changes on the app store before you submit your appeal on our appeal form. Please note that we are not able to consider your case if we do not find the updated app. We also encourage you to explain what changes have you made to your app or account in order to comply with our program policies.

    Thank you for your cooperation.

    Sincerely,

    The Google AdMob Team

    submitted by /u/MBugOnYou
    [link] [comments]
    Read more
    at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Fashion

    Beauty

    Travel