Advice for beta versions

Former Member over 10 years ago

I am about to finish a new version of my Golf app. I have added a lot of new features, and re-written quite a part of it. Therefore, I assume that there will be several bugs that need to be found and ironed out.

I don't want to upload the new version and replace the reasonably stable version in the IQ store, because it might upset people if they find the app in their device updated to a possibly unstable version.

Is there a proposed way how to deal with it?

What about uploading the new version as a new app, and initially with a BETA warning?

Can the first version later be pulled from the store? Would it be pulled from user devices as well?

I'm not sure how to proceed and would be glad to get some advice from the store keepers.

Nikeow over 10 years ago

hi - I understand how it work and the idea. I've been doing that for my side loaded apps (I have a few) all of them are using diff UUID from the one I Upload to garmin store as official.

My question is basically is beta versions being uploaded to the store. (Kinda like Google Mail in beta )

On one hand we have the school of thot that says don't upload beta versions that causes a bad name to CIQ and ....

On the other hand we say upload beta and allow testers do the testing.

Former Member over 10 years ago

Question about OS

Coming back to my idea to have a beta side by side in the IQ store, and when it is mature for release, it would replace the officially released version of the app. So far so good. However, the beta tester would loose the object store he/she accumulated during beta testing... unless it is possible and permitted to

Delete the OS of the released app
Copy the OS of the beta and assign it the name of the just deleted OS

Would that work???

Nikeow over 10 years ago

Coming back to my idea to have a beta side by side in the IQ store, and when it is mature for release, it would replace the officially released version of the app. So far so good. However, the beta tester would loose the object store he/she accumulated during beta testing... unless it is possible and permitted to

Delete the OS of the released app
Copy the OS of the beta and assign it the name of the just deleted OS

Would that work???

he/she can just copy the .str file and rename it to the new PRG name. I tot that's how it works?

Brandon.ConnectIQ over 10 years ago

What is to be done for all the beta that has been downloaded? Continue to get bad reviews from clueless users?
Does Garmin encourage/look aside for beta being uploaded to the store?

When app is pulled from the store - entire page is gone or ??
Or just upload a new beta - tricking users to upgrade and then put up a note on the screen that says - this version depreciated. Please update to this version

How this is handled is partially dependent upon you. If you upload a beta version, then remove it and upload and entirely new "release" version of your app, the beta version will be completely gone from the store. The advantage, of course, is that you'd be able to mark the beta as a beta, and then effectively have a clean slate (review-wise) with the release version. The downside, of course, is that users that depend on automatic updates would stay on the beta and never get your release version.

I think your idea of leaving the beta up and popping a notice in the app of the new version is probably a good approach given the current functionality of the app store. After a certain time, you could remove the beta listing from the app store. This is how new app versions are often handled on other stores, such as the Apple App Store. I can think of several instances where a 1.x version of an app is end-of-life, and 2.x is a paid upgrade. In the App Store, they are listed as separate apps. Now one is forced onto 2.x, but they might get a pop-up in their 1.x app to upgrade.