Google to make it easier to discover apps in Beta

Signing up for an app that’s in Beta has always been a cumbersome process. You’ll usually be invited to try a Beta app through a link that puts you on a whitelist to download the latest build of such apps. The problem with this model that has been plaguing it for a while, is that the system always took several moments for the Beta request to go through before you could even download the application.

Google is taking new steps in order to make it simpler for people to discover new apps in Beta by putting these apps in the search results for the general public to download and access. This feature will enable Beta apps to appear in the search results with an opt-in toggle that would be found in the Google Play Store settings.

On a similar note, Google Play will also offer new tools for statistical collection of data from beta testers for developers to improve their apps and reduce the number of crashed in its builds. This is Google Play’s pre-launch report which can be found on the Android Developer console and must be enabled before you can use it. It summarizes the beta’s issues in easy-to-understand visual graphs and organizes the data for the developers to help them create quality apps.

Google says it will also launch a new section in the Google Play Store called “Google Play Early Access” which will list the best of Beta apps for all to check out, download, try out, and give feedback. Thanks to these two new features, it will be much easier to find and download Beta builds of new or existing apps. By improving the way that more users can download Betas, there will be a lower chance that the app is launched with bugs or incompatibility. If they sign up for the Beta, of course.

Source | Via