Android TV - Submitting an app to the Google Play Store

Submitting an Android TV App to the Google Play Store

- Guidance Note

Introduction

This document does not replace the full Google guidelines for app submission, rather it identifies the necessary steps that are split across a number pages in Google’s developer documentation  and where to find the detailed information.

Introductory reading

How to publish, manage, and distribute your app	https://developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/launch
Making a compelling Google Play Store listing	https://developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/launch/store-listing.html
Link to the Google Play Console	https://play.google.com/apps/publish/signup/
Google Play Console help	https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer#topic=3450769

 

Basic Preparation

There are 3 key things to have in place for Google Play App Store submission

1. A signed .apk file of the application
2. Additional graphical assets for the app store that are not part of the actual app .apk
3. Google Play Console set up to manage the app submission

 

APK preparation

For managed customers: -  Final customer approved .apk file is provided and signed by Applicaster.

For platform customers - Final approved .apk file is provided and signed by the customer.

The final customer approved .apk file needs to be signed by creating a Keystore File, Keystore Password, Key Alias, and Key Password. Applicaster can provide this if they have built the apps or it can be created by the customer.  Do not lose the provided key or it will not be possible to update apps.

To create these,  in the Terminal type:

keytool -genkey -v -keystore NameOfFile.keystore -storepass KeyStorePassword -alias KeyStoreAlias -keypass KeyPassword-keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

Change words marked in blue with passwords and names to fit your app. Answer the questions in Terminal on running the command. Once completed the Key Store File will be on your computer.

When running your release build you just need to enter the credentials with which you created the file. 

Google Play Apps Store Asset Requirements

1	Include all the graphical assets for the Google Play App Store listing https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/1078870 Need to be provided by customer. This is done by selecting an app in the console, and selecting ‘store presence, then store listing’	At least 2 and up to 8 screenshots of your app At least 1 screenshot must be placed in the ‘TV’ tab	JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) Minimum dimension: 320 px Maximum dimension: 3840 px The maximum dimension of your screenshot can't be more than twice as long as the minimum dimension.
		High res icon for the app store listing. This is not the same as the icon (TV Banner) used to identify the app to end users launch the app on the Android TV devices	32-bit PNG (with alpha) Dimensions: 512 px by 512 px Maximum file size: 1024 KB https://developer.android.com/google-play/resources/icon-design-specifications
		Consider Feature Graphic and Promo Video for placement before the screenshots and in featured and promo parts of the store	JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) Dimensions: 1024 px by 500 px Videos can be YouTube links

Google Play Console, App Release and Management

Step	Action	Further detail	Note
1	Sign up for a Google Developer account at the Google Play Console https://play.google.com/apps/publish/signup/	Accept the Developer Distribution Agreement https://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement.html Pay the Registration fee	Registration fee is $25 one-off fee
	Fill in your account information https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/139626
	Add and manage other users of your Console account https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/2528691#definitions	Grant permissions for them within the Console
2	Create the app in the Console https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113469	Under all ‘applications’ select ‘create application’ Select default language of app listing in store and app title	The Package Name is provided by Applicaster
3	Set up the listing for your app in the app store https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113469#store_listing	- Title, Short description, Full description - Add different language translations for all your target countries - Select the app category  - Provide your contact details for support - Provide a link to your privacy policy	List of app categories at (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113475)
4	Take the content rating questionnaire (content suitability e.g. PEGI, ESRB) https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/188189	Avoid your app being unrated. It may get removed from the store if it is not rated for
5	Set the pricing (free or paid) and country distribution for the app https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6334373	Make sure the setting ‘Distribute App to Android TV’ is checked here
6	Add the graphical assets https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/1078870	See above
7	Add the .apk (app file) and create the release https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/7159011	Go through a cycle of internal, closed, open, and production releases to test and finally release to the public https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/3131213	Testers need a GMail account Testing follows ‘tracks’ for instance if you want to test different versions of the app to check bugs or different feature sets Updates to a release can be managed here and include a release roll-out % https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6346149#staged_country
8	Manage the publishing of your app throughout its lifetime https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6334282	Timed releases are possible