Hi guys, I noticed when I uploaded a new version of my app in late August that it went from page one of the "popular" data fields on apps.garmin.com to the last page, and had to work its way back up again. Is there a way, through version numbering or something, to make a bug fix or minor update without the app losing its place?
Hi guys, I noticed when I uploaded a new version of my app in late August that it went from page one of the "popular" data fields on apps.garmin.com to the last page, and had to work its way back up again. Is there a way, through version numbering or something, to make a bug fix or minor update without the app losing its place?
No unfortunately not. This applies to everyone and is just how it is.
The reasoning behind this is that you have to think carefully and properly test before doing an update, as it puts you back at the bottom.
This is a way to prevent sloppiness and buggy apps from being casually updated without having been properly tested.
If you frequently update because of doing bug fixes, you basically get penalised, and your app will spend a long time at the bottom.
It's kind of like a tax you pay for updating the app.
An update could also be buggy and not as stable as the previous version. So in fact you have to earn back your spot that you held higher in the rankings before doing the update.
I was looking at the store .. and it does not appear to be by simple downloads, so I am not sure how they determine what is popular. It could be downloads for the most current version .. and in that case, you would be 'penalized for making an update'.
There was one with 2000+ downloads right beside one with 500. Yet others with more downloads .. were much lower down.
I don't agree that just cause you have an update .. it is buggy. Some never update apps .. me I am usually on the other end of the scale as I like to make changes as I see fit. I know that probably drives my users nuts.
But I am not in it to make the most popular. It may be different if this was like Apple and you were making money at it.
The fact that I build for one device .. pretty much guarantees that I will not be competing with the big boys anytime soon.
Thanks. Another thing I noticed, on the statistics page, the count of downloads for a given previous day keeps changing, usually getting slightly lower each day that passes. Anyone else notice that? What could be causing it?
Hehe, welcome to the world of CIQ developers.
You ain't one till you have questioned statistics and the dynamics of the app store. ;)
This is because, after you have updated your app, all users that have installed it before, automatically get updated to your new version once they sync with Garmin Express.
In the beginning the number of users updating / auto updating are the most, and every day the pool of your users that are still on the old version shrinks, until everyone is eventually updated.
Updates are also reflected in the statistics together with new users, this is why you see a spike for a couple of days after an update, after which it returns to normal lower levels.
As Hermo said, it's kind of interesting at times. For example, when an "auto migration" for a new device occurs, you may jump up in popularity for a bit if you don't support the device that triggered the auto-migration or you have auto migration turn off for your app.
There are also things like the three pre-loaded watchfaces on the va-hr. When Garmin updates those, pretty much everyone with a va-hr gets the update, causing a huge spike for them (two have been on the "most popular" list on the main screen of the app store for a couple weeks now)
I mean something different... Let's say that today the app store reports 81 downloads on the stats page for yesterday (Saturday). Tomorrow, it is likely to report 79 downloads for Saturday.
As for auto migration, I don't get how that works. How does the app store determine which version of your app in the iq file to use for the new device?
As for auto migration, I don't get how that works. How does the app store determine which version of your app in the iq file to use for the new device?
The auto-migration to the Fexnix Chronos is an example. When it was added to the app store, things that supported the Fenix family were auto migrated to it. The same .prg available for them was also made available for the Fenix Chronos. When something gets auto migrated to a new target, the version number for that app in the store has something like "-upd" added to the end. Same thing happened when the 735 was added, things for the 23x/630 were auto migrated.
On an app by app basis, you can specify if that app should be auto migrated if a new target is added. (the default is "auto migrate)
See the thread on Auto Migration for more details.
I mean something different... Let's say that today the app store reports 81 downloads on the stats page for yesterday (Saturday). Tomorrow, it is likely to report 79 downloads for Saturday.
I have noticed that also. Happens and seems to be natural, although I don't have an explanation for it. Probably the difference between the most current count for Saturday and the count it had the previous day is the number of users that have uninstalled the app. Not sure myself.
