I want to upload my app which is in beta. It is working for both Android and iOS. Initially I want to distribute it privately only to limited user. I know about Google Play Private Channel but that is only for Android. I want for both. Is there any store for both which is world wide accessible. And I dont want to provide UUID for each Apple user. If not then what other options can be?
If you want one common solution for both iOS and Android, then
1) Appaloosa
2) Apphance
3) TheBetaFamily
4) HockeyApp
5) Bugsense
6) AppBlade
7) Knappsack
8) Testflight
Most of them are paid, but some of them has free trial period.
I am a big fan of Testflight as there service is brilliant and it is free. Unfortunately Testflight only support iOS and there is no chance of that changing since Apple acquired Testflight. If you decided to end up in an iOS only option, then Testflight is the service for you.
You can use TestFlight available here: https://testflightapp.com/
TestFlight can provide over the air download support, feedback, reports etc and is very useful for iOS beta testing
Refer #Krishnabhadra's answer for tools for private beta deployment. For final distribution read this answer:
ios only allows jailbroken phones to install non-app-store apps. So there is no way to put both android and ios apps in the same store/distribution medium as you ask.
ios apps can only be distributed without the app store to a limited audience for testing etc.
You can distribute android apps via your own website or alternate app stores though.
See this thread as well:
iPhone app without AppStore
You can only distribute iOS apps to unmodified iOS devices if you have registered that device's UDID with Apple in your developer account. This applies to both final store distribution and also any private beta testing. There is no other way.
Thus there is no world accessible solution that meets your wants for native iOS apps.
But you can do HTML5 web apps (clip-able web sites that can run in Safari) that are world accessible without any app approvals.
Related
In the past we were able to deploy private versions of our app to EMM's (e.g. VMWare, MobileIron) and test out managed configurations. But today, we are unable to test new app updates within a managed environment.
Android https://developer.android.com/work/managed-configurations
With new Google updates EMMs are no longer able to upload private versions of our app if the app package id conflicts with a publicly available app on Google Play. For regulatory reasons we are unable to just change the package id and test because it is technically not testing the same binaries. Best we can do now is simulate a managed environment using Test DCP : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.afwsamples.testdpc
Is this the best we can test without publicly releasing the app update to Google Play? We have contacted VMWare and basically got the same answer but would like a confirmation. Uploading the app to a closed testing track on Google Play and then trying to importing to EMM did not work either.
iOS https://www.appconfig.org/ios/
Basically the same issue for iOS. Apple has kind of removed the Enterprise Developer Account which we previously used to sign and upload our own versions to EMM. The new eligibility requirements are too much. Alternatively, none of the EMMs work with TestFlight. And for iOS we do not know of any app like Android Test DCP to simulate a managed environment. I read a few github chains and Apple forums where companies are just releasing the app publicly then testing to make sure everything works. That can't be right, right?
I am looking for a way that I can develop an app cheaply for a very specific use.
Specifically, I would like to create an game that can be played online between different phones.
I have some coding and development experience, and I would like to make the app iOS compatible (initially... open to Android integration later on).
Is anyone aware of a way to make an app without paying $99+ a year to be deployed on the app store? I simply need to make it available to approximately 15 people, and am uninterested in making any money or widely distributing the app.
Many of the target audience are in low-income areas of the world and have very limited access to computers, so a mobile application is likely my only option.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I have done research into Apple developer accounts, but it doesn't seem to fit my needs. I have also looked into making an Ad-Hoc account app, but can't find a lot of info on the feasibility of this.
One thing to consider is what are the game performance requirements?
If it is a simple game, using a Javascript game engine may be a better option as it can be hosted on a server (and viewed in a browser) to start with, and later bundled in a progressive web app with PWA Builder.
I'm not an expert but I think this question should be moved to a different Stack Exchange website.
Anyway, if you want to distribute your app to iOS real devices through the App Store, you will have to pay the $99 yearly membership.
There is also a free Apple Developer Program. I never tried it and I think you need physical access to the devices on which you want to load the app. But I could be wrong and maybe you'll have access to TestFlight. If you do have access to TestFlight the only disadvantage is that you'll have to re-publish your app from time to time when the testing period for one version is over. Try it!
iOS device and low-income don't really fit together ;-).
On Android, it is much more affordable even with the use of the Play store. If it hasn't change much it is a one time $25 fee and that's it. You can do Alpha/Beta and Production releases.
Regarding your requirements it is the best platform because the devices are generally cheaper.
To developp on Android, it's free, you just pay if you want to publish the app on store.
For ios, you can't do anything without creating a developper account, so pay $99.
You're always able to use a cross-platform langage (react native, flutter for ex.) but as soon as you want to deploy on real apple device, you'll need to pay.
Is it possible for an android application to act as a custom market place?
The imagined behavior of the app:
Download XYZ app from the built in Google Play Store
Opening XYZ app yields a UI similar to that seen in the Play Store
The user can navigate through XYZ app and select a custom app supported by XYZ to install on their phone
This custom app would not be located on the Play Store and the .apk would be directly installed from the context of the XYZ app/marketplace to the users phone
I did some research and found alternative Android App Stores such as:
Amazon App Store for Android
GetJar
SLideMe
F-Droid
But is it possible to have an alternative marketplace like this that can be accessed from an app that was downloaded from the Google Play Store? Does google allow this type of practice?
So I suppose the heart of my questions is: Is it possible to create an android application that has permissions to install other 3rd party applications directly to a users phone? (without needing to leverage the Play Store or needing to jailbreak the phone)
Thanks in advance for the answers and insights! And please let me know if anything I'm saying doesn't make sense.
(Extra Credit: I would also be curious to learn about the feasibility of doing this with an iOS app as well)
To add to the other answers, you will have problems with some of Google Play's rules. AFAIK they don't allow your app to direct users to a different store. So you won't be able to keep your app on Google Play store in that case.
EDIT
It is not in the Terms and Conditions, as confirmed by #Cumulo Nimbus.
It is in clause 4.5 of the Developer Distribution Agreement:
4.5 Non-Compete. You may not use the Market to distribute or make available any Product whose primary purpose is to facilitate the
distribution of software applications and games for use on Android
devices outside of the Market.
My interpretation of the above was, and still is, that we can't point people to a different app store.
Kudos to #zmarties for pointing me at the Developer Program Policy which links out to the Developer Distribution Agreement. I knew I'd seen this somewhere...
In terms of iOS, Apple does not allow different app stores unless you jailbreak (iOS-speak for rooting) your phone. They are not as open minded as the Google.
Android apps don't need to be rooted in order to install third party apk's. The use just needs to allow this in their settings. The apps you have listed simply instruct their users to enable this setting.
The best example of a third-party "free as in freedom" app store would be F-Droid
Technically it's possible.
The current Developer Program Policy does not seem to prohibit it either - all they have to say on the matter relates to installing "dangerous products" from outside the play store:
Dangerous Products: We don't allow content that harms, interferes with the operation of, or accesses in an unauthorized manner, networks, servers, or other infrastructure.
Malicious scripts and password phishing scams are also prohibited on Google Play, as are apps that cause users to unknowingly download or install apps from sources outside of Google Play.
Having said that, I can't quickly see any alternative apps stores that are themselves in the Play Store.
My question is simple: is there a way to totally automate the process to publish (and/or upgrade) a massive number of apps to AppStore and Google Play?
How do they do companies like MobileAppLoader, appbreeder, AppMakr and the like to publish, upgrade and manage their massive number of apps in the different stores?
I cannot think they do it manually everytime, there must be a programmatically way to do that kind of things. But how?
Thats the reason some opt for MobileWeb apps. They donot require to update through an app store.
See the link for more info:
http://sixrevisions.com/web-applications/building-mobile-web-apps-the-right-way-tips-and-techniques/
The is no way for a developer to directly publish an app in the iOS App store. Only Apple can allow publication after reviewing the apps submitted to them.
Xcode on a Mac is used to submit apps to Apple for review. And Xcode can be scripted by Automater or AppleScript. These scripts could be potentially launched from unix scripts or chron jobs or the shell command-line, since Mac OS X is a Unix OS.
To the AppStore and Google Play there isn't, mainly because if there was, it would be abused by spammers.
Now, for everything, but getting the applications to the stores, you can automate it.
Here is one example that would also work with Android.
http://nachbaur.com/blog/how-to-automate-your-iphone-app-builds-with-hudson
If you can commit changes, and at the end your automated process has a beta test version ready, then you just code, the testing/building/publishing to beta site is automated, you can handle many applications, more easily.
For an enterprise application, what are requirements for an organisation. Like we have to pay for publishing our application in android market, similarly is there, we need to pay for enterprise application? Any other rules for an organisation.
A search on Internet didn't yield any results. I followed some articles like support for enterprise app , Android enterprise , and Blackberry enterprise development.
Thanx.
hey i see what you are asking...
1)there is no such thing like enterprise applications in android market. All the applications are same.
2) there is no additional cost or so....i just publish your app in a standard way.
3) If your looking for a app catalog for your enterprise look at this
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5997202/android-enterprise-market/6739757#6739757
4) Device Administration API's and a Online Enterprise App catalog(where you list all your apps) can be done to secure,manage your enterprise devices which use your enterprise apps.
great question. No requirements persay on submitting apps from Google but more so from your own company concerning security/privacy. Check out this podcast I did with Greg Hansen from Motorola Mobility discusses how they use the Android Market to distribute apps to Motorola employees.
Visit http://developer.motorola.com/eventstraining/podcasts/appdistributiondec13/
for the android market you need to register an account and just publish your app. google doens't really have any restrictions like apple has for the iphone apps. its quite simple and straightforward. you just need to pay 25$ for creating the market account through google checkout.
And what exactly do you mean by publishing an enterprise app? how is that different from a normal android app? There really isn't a different way of deploying the apps on the market. its just the standard normal way of building, signing and uploading the app. The app code in a regular app isn't with a different structure than an enterprise app (apps build with the help of the android sdk, tested on android devices written with the help of the same classes and ment to be deployed on the same phones as any other app out there)...