Tips on how to scale made-for-mobile apps to ChromeOS

Posted by Patrick Fuentes, Developer Relations Engineer, Google ChromeOSIndividuals’s urge for food for apps on bigger screens is rising quick. In Q1 2022 alone, there have been 270 million lively Android customers throughout Chromebooks, tablets, and foldables. So if you wish to develop attain, engagement, and loyalty, taking your app past cellular will unlock a world of alternative.

In case your app is accessible in Google Play, there’s likelihood customers are already participating with it on ChromeOS. And should you’re simply beginning to consider bigger screens, tailoring your app to ChromeOS — which runs a full Android framework — is a superb place to begin. What’s extra is that optimizing for ChromeOS is similar to optimizing for different larger-screen gadgets, so any work you do for one will scale to the opposite.

At Android Dev Summit 2022, I shared a number of ChromeOS-specific nuances to bear in mind when tailoring your app to bigger screens. Let’s discover the highest 5 issues devs ought to contemplate, in addition to workarounds to frequent challenges.

1) Finessing enter compatibility

One of many greatest variations between person conduct on cellular and larger-screen gadgets is individuals’s choice for enter gadgets. About 90% of ChromeOS customers work together with apps utilizing a mouse and keyboard, and Android customers throughout tablets and foldables typically do the identical.

About 90% of ChromeOS users interact with apps using a mouse and keyboard

Step one to assembly individuals’s expectations is testing your app’s assist for a keyboard, mouse, and stylus. When you’ve obtained your fundamentals coated, you’ll be able to add enhancements comparable to considerate focus states and context menus. It’s also possible to additional improve enter compatibility on bigger screens by testing app-specific enter gadgets, comparable to sport controllers.

Focus states and context menus shown on Chromebooks

2) Making a fit-for-larger-screen UI

Individuals freely resize apps on ChromeOS, so it’s essential to consider how your app appears to be like and feels in quite a lot of side ratios — together with panorama orientations. Though ChromeOS provides automated windowing compatibility assist for made-for-mobile experiences, apps that particularly optimize for bigger screens are inclined to drive extra engagement.

The additional display actual property on Chromebooks, tablets, and foldables offers each you and your customers extra room to play, discover, and create. So why not take advantage of it? You may implement a responsive UI for bigger screens with toolkits comparable to Jetpack Compose and create adaptive experiences by sticking to design greatest practices.

3) Implementing binary compatibility

If you happen to’ve solely run your app on Android telephones, you may solely be acquainted with ARM gadgets. However Chromebooks and plenty of different desktops typically use x86 architectures, which makes binary assist vital. Though Gradle builds for all non-deprecated ABIs by default, you’ll nonetheless have to particularly account for x86 assist in case your app or certainly one of your libraries consists of C++ code.

Due to binary translation, many Android apps will run on x86 ChromeOS gadgets even when a appropriate model isn’t obtainable. However this could hinder app efficiency and damage battery life, so it’s greatest to present x86 assist explicitly at any time when you’ll be able to.

4) Giving apps an intensive check run

The surefire means of guaranteeing an important person expertise? Run rigorous checks to ensure your apps and video games work as anticipated on the gadgets you’re optimizing for. Whenever you’re constructing for ChromeOS, testing your apps on Chromebooks or one other larger-screen machine is right. However you’ve got nonetheless obtained choices if a bodily machine isn’t obtainable.

As an illustration, you’ll be able to nonetheless check a keyboard or mouse on an Android handset by plugging them into the USB-C port. And with the new desktop emulator in Android Studio, you’ll be able to take your app for a spin in a larger-screen setting and check desktop options comparable to window resizing.

A Chromebook featuring the Desktop Android Virtual Device in Android Studio

5) Sprucing apps for publishing

Typically, even apps examined on Chromebooks — and listed in Google Play — aren’t truly obtainable to ChromeOS customers. This often occurs as a result of there’s an entry within the app’s manifest declaring it requires options that aren’t obtainable on the unsupported machine.

Let’s say you specify your app requires “android.{hardware}.digital camera.” That entry refers to a rear-facing digital camera — so any gadgets with solely a user-facing digital camera could be thought of unsupported. If any digital camera will work in your app, you need to use “android.{hardware}.digital camera.any” as a substitute. And if a {hardware} characteristic isn’t a should in your app, it’s greatest to specify in your manifest that it’s not required by utilizing “required=false.”

A Chromebook featuring recommended manifest entries for hardware features. These manifest entries are also featured on their own next to the Chromebook

When you’ve obtained your manifest squared away, your app is able to ship. Your app itemizing is usually your first likelihood to impress and entice customers. That’s why we’re excited the Play Console now allows you to add screenshots particular to totally different kind elements. With this new performance, you’ll be able to exhibit what your app expertise is like on customers’ favourite gadgets and entice them to obtain.

Join with tens of millions of larger-screen customers

As individuals’s love for desktops, tablets, and foldables continues to develop, constructing for these kind elements is changing into increasingly essential. Try different talks from Android Dev Summit 2022 in addition to assets on ChromeOS.dev and developer.android.com for extra inspiration and how-tos as you optimize for bigger screens. And don’t neglect to join the ChromeOS publication to maintain up with the most recent.