Android Question What Makes a Tablet App?

[Harris]

The Google Play Store will make a series of changes next month designed to make tablet-optimized apps easier to find — and to prod developers into rebuilding their smartphone apps for larger screens. Starting November 21st, anyone browsing Google Play on a tablet will see only tablet-optimized apps on the store's list of bestsellers. And to encourage developers to build apps that look good on 7"- and 10"-inch tablets, Google will begin labeling any apps that don't meet its standards for tablets as "designed for phones."

I have been using Designer to format my activities for both phone and tablet. Granted, some of my icons on tablets are the same phone size.... This has been my problem from the beginning - how to format for phone and large screens (7 - 10+ inch). I have read "standards for tablets" but what does that mean for us B4A developers?

Can someone, in a nutshell, explain what a "Tablet App" shall consist of - to be granted "Tablet Status" by Google (and still support phones)? Is it just a matter of device size?

I start with a phone layout (320x480) and then work up from there for larger screens using DS.

Thanks kindly.

 

[canalrun]

an someone, in a nutshell, explain what a "Tablet App" shall consist of - to be granted "Tablet Status" by Google (and still support phones)? Is it just a matter of device size?

Thanks kindly.

I am very interested in this info also.

Google Play recently added 7" and 10" screen shots for tablets. When I upload these screenshots, Google says, "your app is not optimized for tablets" and they present some suggestions, including: adding optimized images for low, medium, and high resolution devices, using the manifest target version >= 11, and a few other things.

I think their suggestions are nonsense. My apps are dynamically optimized for both phones and tablets. Does anyone have additional information on this?

Thanks,
Barry.

 

[Erel]

Your apps should be supported by devices with any screen size. This is set in the default manifest editor text.

The suggestions about resource files are not relevant in our case.

 

[canalrun]

Your apps should be supported by devices with any screen size. This is set in the default manifest editor text.

The suggestions about resource files are not relevant in our case.

Hello,
I agree completely.

Unfortunately, it sounds like Google might start listing apps that don't conform to their "suggestions" as optimized for phones and not tablets.

I have tried to upload 7" and 10" screenshots of apps to get on their current "compatible with tablets lists", but Google tells me these apps have not been optimized for tablets and will not be listed on their special lists. They give me suggestions to make my apps compatible. The suggestions include the things I mentioned previously. These apps have been dynamically optimized using B4A features to display and work well on a tablet.

I am anxious to see what Google will actually do. Will they take all apps that don't include "optimized" icons in their resource directories and target SDK version 14 manifest entries and call them phone apps not good on tablets?

Maybe it just means placing copies of our app icon in each of the display-density-specific resource directories. The target SDK version is what is going to affect me. I rely on the menu button. If I set a target SDK version >= 11 the menu button disappears unless I have the heading enabled. The heading in this case shows the app icon wasting 15-20% of the upper screen area just to show the icon and menu button.

It will be interesting to see how Google plays this out.

Barry.

 

[Erel]

If I set a target SDK version >= 11 the menu button disappears unless I have the heading enabled.

It is recommended to set this attribute. Otherwise your app will use the old style on new devices.