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Being a software developer in any form isn’t exactly easy, but the mobile space is a complicated beast, and tends to be much more personal than most other forms of software development. Developers who want a successful app must live and breathe user interaction, taking every negative comment into account and implementing fixes and improvements, as well as regular updates, in the kind of timely fashion users would expect. To help with this, Google has created the Google Play Developer Console, a centralized place for those who have published apps in the Play Store to view all sorts of data that helps them interact with users and keep their app well thought-of, as well as analytics tools that can help with financial projections and other considerations. Thanks to a new app, developers now have access to all these functions on the go, so long as they have their Android device handy.
The app, which features a dedicated tablet interface, gives developers access to installation tracking by the numbers and by device, as well as uninstallations by the same metric. Developers can also view and respond to reviews straight from the app. Ratings, installs and uninstalls can also be viewed in graph form, to track interest in your app and check if a recent update may have changed perception for better or worse. Reports of crashes, “App Not Responding” occurrences and the details of such, including what module or call may have caused it, are all available, as well as graphs showing statistics for these, allowing you to troubleshoot recent updates or device compatibility.
The full-featured Developer Console, now available on mobile, requires a developer account. Signing in with a non-developer Google account will net you a prompt telling you that the selected account does not have access to the developer console. For indie developers who are building up their app’s popularity or looking for the best ways to monetize will find the console invaluable, as will popular developers with millions of installs who are looking to engage with their user-base. The Developer Console app is now available in the Play Store.
