Hi,
I just noticed that from August 2021 the Android App Bundle publishing format becomes mandatory. How will this affect apps made in LC?
Starting August 2021, new apps will be required to target API level 30 (Android 11) and use the Android App Bundle publishing format. Starting November 2021, all app updates will be required to target API level 30 (Android 11). Apps with a download size of more than 150 MB are now supported by Play Asset Delivery and Play Feature Delivery.
Has there been any progress on this? I see that Panos marked this as having a deadline of June 2021, but the latest release of Livecode (9.6.2) does not seem to have an option of building in .aab format. Saving as a standalone only builds an .apk format file.
I've been wondering about this too. The actual deadline is (or has been moved to) August "for new apps" but it isn't clear whether that includes updates to existing ones in the Play Store.
Jacqueline Landman Gay | jacque at hyperactivesw dot com
HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
After August 2021, all new apps and games will be required to publish with the Android App Bundle format. New apps and games must use Play Asset Delivery or Play Feature Delivery to deliver assets or features that exceed a download size of 150MB. Private enterprise apps are not subject to this requirement
and
When you upload an app bundle or APK, it needs to meet Google Play’s target API level requirements. By August 2021, new apps must target at least Android 11 (API level 30). By November 2021, all apps that are being updated must target at least Android 11 (API level 30). Until then, new apps and app updates must target at least Android 10 (API level 29). Wear OS apps are not subject to these new requirements.
Not eactly clear... I have a feeling though that after November 2021 updates will need to be in aab format as well.
That helps, thanks. So updates have until November but new apps only have a month left. Changing the target level isn't hard to do by ourselves, we can edit the default manifest. But I have no idea how to implement app bundles without help from the LC team.
Jacqueline Landman Gay | jacque at hyperactivesw dot com
HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
FourthWorld wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 8:23 pm
Oddly, nothing on the company blog about this.
They send out emails to registered developers. I wouldn't expect it in a blog post since the topic doesn't really apply to users. I got the first email about this months ago, and it's also been mentioned in their dev newsletters recently.
Jacqueline Landman Gay | jacque at hyperactivesw dot com
HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
Maybe I didn't understand which blog you meant. I was thinking the Google blog. I don't know why LC would blog about it any more than for one of the many iOS updates they have to make to keep up with Apple's changing landscape.
Jacqueline Landman Gay | jacque at hyperactivesw dot com
HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
jacque wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:10 am
don't know why LC would blog about it any more than for one of the many iOS updates they have to make to keep up with Apple's changing landscape.
A lot of companies like to assure their customers by taking just a moment to let folks know they're on top of changes of this scope.
Richard Gaskin LiveCode development, training, and consulting services: Fourth World Systems
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What worries me is that unless the LC team can roll out 9.6.3 (or at least a patch for 9.6.2) within 2 months then none of us will be able to upload any new apps to the Android Play Store. Not necessarily a blog post, but some form of update on this to us registered LC users would not be amiss. We all have deadlines to meet and it would be nice to know if LC is going to be there for us.
I bumped the QA report yesterday, you could add your comments too. That's the best place to follow the progress, and the more people who comment the better.
