Google is on a roll at the moment, although so far we’ve been hearing all about backend services. So far they’ve touched base on the Play Store, Google Maps, location services getting a major overhaul, Google Games and more. And we haven’t even got to the newest Android 4.3 or 5.0 yet. However, they just announced some awesome options for developers.
As the title states, the Google Play Store and developer console just received some massive improvements. We’ll update with tons of detailed information later, but here’s the important bits. Live beta testing in the Google Play Store, as well as staged rollouts.
This means developers can launch an app on the Play Store, in a limited or open beta, and control everything. No more 3rd party download and installs needed. From here replies and “reviews” on the Store go directly to the developer, and he can reply directly too. Even better, these are beta reviews and won’t be seen by the public. Nice touch Google.
Then from here the developer has full control in the dev console for the actual app launch. He can open the beta for all, stage a limited small rollout, or open the floodgates for everything. This makes developing, testing, and launching Android applications on the Play Store the best app experience on mobile. Hopefully we don’t see a flood of unstable beta apps though. That wouldn’t be ideal.
Stay tuned for more. Coming quick!
