867 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
867 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
page.title=Tablet App Quality
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||
page.metaDescription=Tablets are a fast-growing part of the Android installed base that offers new opportunities for your apps.
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page.image=/distribute/images/tablet-guidelines-color.jpg
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Xnonavpage=true
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@jd:body
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<div id="qv-wrapper"><div id="qv">
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<h2>Checklist</h2>
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<ol>
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<li><a href="#core-app-quality">1. Test for Basic Tablet App Quality</a></li>
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<li><a href="#optimize-layouts">2. Optimize Layouts</a></li>
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<li><a href="#use-extra-space">3. Use Extra Screen Area</a></li>
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<li><a href="#use-tablet-icons">4. Use Assets Designed for Tablets</a></li>
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<li><a href="#adjust-font-sizes">5. Adjust Fonts and Touch Targets</a></li>
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<li><a href="#adjust-widgets">6. Adjust Homescreen Widgets</a></li>
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<li><a href="#offer-full-feature-set">7. Offer Full Feature Set</a></li>
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<li><a href="#android-versions">8. Target Android Versions Properly</a></li>
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<li><a href="#hardware-requirements">9. Declare Dependencies Properly</a></li>
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<li><a href="#support-screens">10. Declare Support for Tablet Screens</a></li>
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<li><a href="#google-play">11. Showcase Your Tablet UI</a></li>
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<li><a href="#google-play-best-practices">12. Follow Best Practices for Publishing in Google Play</a></li>
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</ol>
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<h2>Testing</h2>
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<ol>
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<li><a href="#test-environment">Setting Up a Test Environment</a></li>
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</ol>
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</div></div>
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<div class="todp-right-float" style="padding-right:0;margin-bottom:1em;">
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<img src="{@docRoot}distribute/images/tablet-guidelines-color.jpg" style="width:480px;">
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</div>
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<p>
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Tablets are a growing part of the Android installed base and offer new
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opportunities for <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/stories/tablets.html">user
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engagement and monetization</a>. The guidelines in this document will help
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you meet the expectations of tablet users through compelling features and an
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intuitive, well-designed UI.
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</p>
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<p>
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Although the guidelines are numbered, you can approach them in any order. You
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should address each guideline’s recommendations to the extent that they’re
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appropriate for your app, but — in the interest of delivering the best
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product to your customers — follow them to the greatest extent
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possible.
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</p>
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<p>
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Through the document you'll find links to resources that can
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help you address each recommendation included.
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</p>
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<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="core-app-quality">1. Test for Basic Tablet App Quality</h2></div>
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<p>The first step in delivering a great tablet app experience is making sure
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that it meets the <em>core app quality criteria</em> for all of the devices
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and form factors that the app is targeting. For complete information, see the <a
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href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/core.html">Core App Quality Guidelines</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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Before publishing, also ensure that your app passes the basic technical checks and launch criteria, such as:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#android-versions">Targets appropriate Android versions</a></li>
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<li><a href="#hardware-requirements">Specifies any hardware dependencies properly</a></li>
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<li><a href="#support-screens">Declares support for appropriate screens</a></li>
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<li><a href="#use-extra-space">Uses all of the available screen space</a></li>
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<li><a href="#google-play">Screenshots are uploaded to Google Play</a></li>
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</ul>
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<p>If your app is already uploaded to the Google Play Developer Console, you
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can see how it is doing against these checks
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by visiting the <a href="#google-play-optimization-tips">Optimization
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Tips page</a>.</p>
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<div class="headerLine">
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<h2 id="optimize-layouts">2. Optimize Layouts for Larger Screens</h2></div>
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<p>
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Android makes it easy to develop an app that runs well on a wide range of
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device screen sizes and form factors. This broad compatibility works in your
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favor, since it helps you design a single app that you can distribute widely
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to all of your targeted devices. However, to give your users the best
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possible experience on each screen configuration — in particular on
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tablets — you need to optimize your layouts and other UI components for
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each targeted screen configuration. On tablets, optimizing your UI lets you
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take full advantage of the additional screen available, such as to offer new
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features, present new content, or enhance the experience in other ways to
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deepen user engagement.
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</p>
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<p>
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If you developed your app for handsets and now want to distribute it to
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tablets, you can start by making minor adjustments to your layouts, fonts,
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and spacing. In some cases — such as for 7-inch tablets or for a game
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with large canvas — these adjustments may be all you need to make your
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app look great. In other cases, such as for larger tablets, you can redesign
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parts of your UI to replace "stretched UI" with an efficient multipane UI,
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easier navigation, and additional content.
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</p>
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<div style="width:500px;margin:1.5em;margin-top:-16px;">
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<img src="{@docRoot}images/training/app-navigation-multiple-sizes-multipane-bad.png"
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style="padding:4px;margin-bottom:0em;">
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<p class="img-caption"><span
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style="font-weight:500;">Get rid of "stretched" UI</span>: On tablets, single-pane
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layouts lead to awkward whitespace and excessive line lengths. Use padding to
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reduce the width of UI elements and consider using multi-pane layouts.</p>
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</div>
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<p>Here are some suggestions:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Provide custom layouts as needed for <code>large</code> and
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<code>xlarge</code> screens. You can also provide layouts that are loaded
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based on the screen's <a href=
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"{@docRoot}guide/practices/screens_support.html#NewQualifiers">shortest
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dimension</a> or the <a href=
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"{@docRoot}guide/practices/screens_support.html#NewQualifiers">minimum
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available width and height</a>.
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</li>
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<li>At a minimum, customize dimensions such as font sizes, margins, spacing
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for larger screens, to improve use of space and content legibility.
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</li>
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<li>Adjust positioning of UI controls so that they are easily accessible to
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users when holding a tablet, such as toward the sides when in landscape
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orientation.
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</li>
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<li>Padding of UI elements should normally be larger on tablets than on
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handsets. A <a href="{@docRoot}design/style/metrics-grids.html#48dp-rhythm">
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48dp rhythm</a> (and a 16dp grid) is recommended.
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</li>
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<li>Adequately pad text content so that it is not aligned directly along
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screen edges. Use a minimum <code>16dp</code> padding around content near
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screen edges.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>In particular, make sure that your layouts do not appear "stretched"
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across the screen:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Lines of text should not be excessively long — optimize for a maximum
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100 characters per line, with best results between 50 and 75.</li>
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<li>ListViews and menus should not use the full screen width.</li>
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<li>Use padding to manage the widths of onscreen elements or switch to a
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multi-pane UI for tablets (see next section).</li>
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</ul>
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<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
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<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
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data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/optimize"
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data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
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data-cardSizes="6x3"
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data-maxResults="6"></div>
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<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="use-extra-space">3. Take Advantage of Extra Screen Area</h2></div>
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<div style="width:340px;float:right;margin:1.5em;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;">
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<img src="{@docRoot}images/training/app-navigation-multiple-sizes-multipane-good.png"
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style="padding:4px;margin-bottom:0em;">
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<p class="img-caption"><span
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style="font-weight:500;">Multi-pane layouts</span> result in a better visual
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balance on tablet screens, while offering more utility and legibility.</p>
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</div>
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<p>Tablet screens provide significantly more screen real estate to your app,
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especially when in landscape orientation. In particular, 10-inch tablets offer a
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greatly expanded area, but even 7-inch tablets give you more space for
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displaying content and engaging users. </p>
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<p>As you consider the UI of your app when running on tablets, make sure that it
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is taking full advantage of extra screen area available on tablets. Here are
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some suggestions:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Look for opportunities to include additional content or use an alternative
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treatment of existing content.</li>
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<li>Use <a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/multi-pane-layouts.html">multi-pane
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layouts</a> on tablet screens to combine single views into a compound view. This
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lets you use the additional screen area more efficiently and makes it easier for
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users to navigate your app. </li>
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<li>Plan how you want the panels of your compound views to reorganize when
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screen orientation changes.</li>
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<div style="width:490px;margin:1.5em auto 1.5em 0;">
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<div style="">
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<img src="{@docRoot}images/ui-ex-single-panes.png"
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style="width:490px;padding:4px;margin-bottom:0em;" align="middle">
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<img src="{@docRoot}images/ui-ex-multi-pane.png" style="width:490px;padding:4px;margin-bottom:0em;">
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<p class="image-caption" style="padding:.5em"><span
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style="font-weight:500;">Compound views</span> combine several single views from a
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handset UI <em>(above)</em> into a richer, more efficient UI for tablets
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<em>(below)</em>. </p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<li>While a single screen is implemented as an {@link android.app.Activity}
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subclass, consider implementing individual content panels as {@link
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android.app.Fragment} subclasses. This lets you
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maximize code reuse across different form factors and across screens that
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share content.</li>
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<li>Decide on which screen sizes you'll use a multi-pane UI, then provide the
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different layouts in the appropriate screen size buckets (such as
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<code>large</code>/<code>xlarge</code>) or minimum screen widths (such as
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<code>sw600dp</code>/<code>sw720</code>).</li>
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</ul>
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<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
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||
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||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
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||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/extrascreen"
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||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
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||
data-cardSizes="6x3,6x3,6x3"
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||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
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||
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<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="use-tablet-icons">4. Use Assets Designed for Tablet Screens</h2></div>
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<div><img src="{@docRoot}design/media/devices_displays_density@2x.png"></div>
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<p>To ensure your app looks its best, provide icons and other bitmap
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assets for each density in the range commonly supported by tablets. Specifically, you should
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design your icons for the action bar, notifications, and launcher according to the
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<a href="{@docRoot}design/style/iconography.html">Iconography</a> guidelines and
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provide them in multiple densities, so they appear at the appropriate size on all screens
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without blurring or other scaling artifacts.</p>
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<p class="table-caption"><strong>Table 1</strong>. Raw asset sizes for icon types.<table>
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<tr>
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<th>Density</th>
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<th>Launcher</th>
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<th>Action Bar</th>
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<th>Small/Contextual</th>
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<th>Notification</th>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>mdpi</code></td>
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<td>48x48 px</td>
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<td>32x32 px</td>
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<td>16x16 px</td>
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<td>24x24 px</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>hdpi</code></td>
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<td>72x72 px</td>
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<td>48x48 px</td>
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<td>24x24 px</td>
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<td>36x36 px</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>tvdpi</code></td>
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<td><em>(use hdpi)</em></td>
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<td><em>(use hdpi)</em></td>
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<td><em>(use hdpi)</em></td>
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<td><em>(use hdpi)</em></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>xhdpi</code></td>
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<td>96x96 px</td>
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<td>64x64 px</td>
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<td>32x32 px</td>
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<td>48x48 px</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>xxhdpi</code></td>
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<td>144x144 px</td>
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<td>96x96 px</td>
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<td>48x48 px</td>
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<td>72x72 px</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<p>
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As a minimum, supply a version of each icon and bitmap asset that's optimized
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for <strong>at least one</strong> the following common tablet screen
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densities:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><code>hdpi</code></li>
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<li><code>xhdpi</code></li>
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<li><code>xxhdpi</code></li>
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</ul>
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<p>Other tips:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Use vector shapes when designing icons, so they scale without loss of either detail or edge crispness.</li>
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<li>Use density-specific <a
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href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/providing-resources.html#AlternativeResources">
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resource qualifiers</a> to ensure that the proper icons are loaded for each screen density.</li>
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<li>Tablets and other large screen devices often request a launcher icon that is one density
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size larger than the device's actual density, so you should provide your launcher
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icon at the highest density possible. For example, if a tablet has an {@code xhdpi} screen,
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it will request the {@code xxhdpi} version of the launcher icon.</li>
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||
</ul>
|
||
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||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/assets"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="9x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="adjust-font-sizes">5.
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Adjust Font Sizes and Touch Targets</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<p>To make sure your app is easy to use on tablets, take some time to adjust the
|
||
font sizes and touch targets in your tablet UI, for all of the screen
|
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configurations you are targeting. You can adjust font sizes through <a
|
||
href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/ui/themes.html">styleable attributes</a> or <a
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||
href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/more-resources.html#Dimension">dimension
|
||
resources</a>, and you can adjust touch targets through layouts and bitmap
|
||
drawables, as discussed above. </p>
|
||
|
||
<p>Here are some considerations:</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
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<li>Text should not be excessively large or small on tablet screen sizes and
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densities. Make sure that labels are sized appropriately for the UI elements they
|
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correspond to, and ensure that there are no improper line breaks in labels,
|
||
titles, and other elements.</li>
|
||
<li>The recommended touch-target size for onscreen elements is 48dp (32dp
|
||
minimum) — some adjustments may be needed in your tablet UI. Read <a
|
||
href="{@docRoot}design/style/metrics-grids.html">Metrics and
|
||
Grids
|
||
</a> to learn about implementation strategies to help most of your users. To
|
||
meet the accessibility needs of certain users, it may be appropriate to use
|
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larger touch targets. </li>
|
||
<li>When possible, for smaller icons, expand the touchable area to more than
|
||
48dp using {@link android.view.TouchDelegate}
|
||
or just centering the icon within the transparent button.</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/fonts"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="9x3,9x3,6x3,6x3,6x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="adjust-widgets">6. Adjust Sizes of Home Screen Widgets</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<p>If your app includes a home screen widget, here are a few points to consider
|
||
to ensure a great user experience on tablet screens: </p>
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>Set the widget's default height and width appropriately
|
||
for tablet screens, as well as the minimum and maximum resize height and width.
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>The widget should be resizable to 420dp or more, to span 5 or more home
|
||
screen rows (if this is a vertical or square widget) or columns (if this is a
|
||
horizontal or square widget). </li>
|
||
<li>Make sure that 9-patch images render correctly.</li>
|
||
<li>Use default system margins.</li>
|
||
<li>Set the app's <code>targetSdkVersion</code> to 14 or higher, if
|
||
possible.</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/widgets"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="6x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="offer-full-feature-set">7. Full Feature Set for Tablet Users</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="centered-full-image" style="width:600px;margin:1.5em"><img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-tablets-full-feature-set.png" alt="Tablet feature sets"></div>
|
||
|
||
<p>Let your tablet users experience the best features of your app. Here are
|
||
some recommendations:</p>
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>Design your app to offer at least the same set of features on tablets as
|
||
it does on phones.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>In exceptional cases, your app might omit or replace certain features on
|
||
tablets if they are not supported by the hardware or use-case of most
|
||
tablets. For example:
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>If the handset uses telephony features but telephony is not available
|
||
on the current tablet, you can omit or replace the related functionality.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Many tablets have a GPS sensor, but most users would not normally
|
||
carry their tablets while running. If your phone app provides
|
||
functionality to let the user record a GPS track of their runs while
|
||
carrying their phones, the app would not need to provide that
|
||
functionality on tablets because the use-case is not compelling.
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>If you will omit a feature or capability from your tablet UI, make sure
|
||
that it is not accessible to users or that it offers “graceful degradation”
|
||
to a replacement feature (also see the section below on hardware features).
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="android-versions">8. Target Android Versions Properly</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
To ensure the broadest possible distribution to tablets, make sure that your
|
||
app properly targets the Android versions that support tablets. Initial
|
||
support for tablets was added in <a href=
|
||
"{@docRoot}about/versions/android-3.0.html">Android 3.0</a> (API level 11).
|
||
Unified UI framework support for tablets, phones, and other devices was
|
||
introduced in <a href="{@docRoot}about/versions/android-4.0.html">Android
|
||
4.0</a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
You can set the app's range of targeted Android versions in the manifest
|
||
file, in the <a href=
|
||
"{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html"><code><uses-sdk></code></a>
|
||
element. In most cases, you can target Android versions properly by setting
|
||
the element's <code>targetSdkVersion</code> attribute to the highest API
|
||
level available.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<p style="margin-bottom:.5em;">
|
||
At a minimum, check the <a href=
|
||
"{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html"><code><uses-sdk></code></a>
|
||
element to make sure that:
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha;margin-top:0em;">
|
||
<li>
|
||
<code>targetSdkVersion</code> is declared with value 11 or higher (14 or
|
||
higher is recommended), OR
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>
|
||
<code>minSdkVersion</code> is declared with value 11 or higher.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>If a <code>maxSdkVersion</code> attribute is declared, it must have a
|
||
value of 11 or higher. Note that, in general, the use of
|
||
<code>maxSdkVersion</code> is <em>not recommended</em>.
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ol>
|
||
|
||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/versions"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="6x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="hardware-requirements">9. Declare Hardware Feature Dependencies Properly</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Handsets and tablets typically offer slightly different hardware support for
|
||
sensors, camera, telephony, and other features. For example, many tablets are
|
||
available in a "Wi-Fi" configuration that does not include telephony support.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
So that you can distribute a single APK broadly across your full customer
|
||
base of phones and tablets, make sure that your app doesn't declare
|
||
requirements for hardware features that aren't commonly available on tablets.
|
||
Instead, properly declare the hardware features as <em>not required</em> in the app
|
||
manifest, as described below.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>In your app manifest, locate any <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-feature-element.html"><code><uses-feature></code></a>
|
||
elements. In particular, look for hardware features that might not be
|
||
available on some tablets, such as:
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><code>android.hardware.telephony</code></li>
|
||
<li><code>android.hardware.camera</code> (refers to back camera), or</li>
|
||
<li><code>android.hardware.camera.front</code></li>
|
||
</ul></li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Declare the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-feature-element.html"><code><uses-feature></code></a>
|
||
elements as <em>not required</em> by including the <code>android:required=”false”</code>
|
||
attribute.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
For example, here's the proper way to declare a dependency on
|
||
<code>android.hardware.telephony</code>, such that you can still
|
||
distribute the app broadly, even to devices that don't offer telephony:
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<pre><uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.telephony" android:required="false" /></pre></li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Similarly, check the manifest for <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/permission-element.html"><code><permission></code></a> elements that
|
||
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-feature-element.html#permissions">imply hardware
|
||
feature requirements</a> that not be appropriate for tablets. If you find such
|
||
permissions, make sure to explicitly declare a corresponding
|
||
<code><uses-feature></code> element for the features and includes the
|
||
<code>android:required=”false”</code> attribute.</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
After declaring hardware features as <em>not required</em>, make sure to test
|
||
your app on a variety of devices. The app should function normally when the
|
||
hardware features it uses are not available, and it should offer "graceful
|
||
degradation" and alternative functionality where appropriate.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
For example, if an app normally uses GPS to set the location but GPS is not
|
||
supported on the device, the app could let the user set the location manually
|
||
instead. The app can check for device hardware capabilities at runtime and handle
|
||
as needed.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/hardware"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="9x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="support-screens">10. Declare Support for Tablet Screens</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<p>To ensure that you can distribute your app to a broad range of tablets, your app should
|
||
declare support for tablet screen sizes in its manifest file, as follows:</p>
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>A
|
||
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/supports-screens-element.html"><code><supports-screens></code></a>
|
||
element, if declared, must not specify <code>android:largeScreens="false"</code>
|
||
or <code>android:xlargeScreens="false"</code>.</li>
|
||
<li>For apps targeting <code>minSdkVersion</code> value less than 13, a
|
||
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/supports-screens-element.html"><code><supports-screens></code></a>
|
||
element must be declared with both <code>android:largeScreens="true"</code> and
|
||
<code>android:xlargeScreens="true"</code>.</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p>If the app declares a
|
||
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/compatible-screens-element.html"><code><compatible-screens></code></a>
|
||
element in the manifest, the element should include attributes that specify
|
||
<em>all of the size and density combinations for tablet screens</em> that the
|
||
app supports. Note that, if possible, you should avoid using the
|
||
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/compatible-screens-element.html"><code><compatible-screens></code></a>
|
||
element in your app.</p>
|
||
|
||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/tabletscreens"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="9x3,6x3,6x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="google-play">11. Showcase Your Tablet UI in Google Play</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
After you've done the work to create an rich, optimized UI for your tablet
|
||
app, make sure that you let your customers know about it! Here are some key
|
||
ways to promote your tablet app to users on Google Play.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<div><img class="border-img" src="{@docRoot}images/gp-tablet-quality-4.jpg"></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<h4>
|
||
Upload screenshots of your tablet UI
|
||
</h4>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Tablet users want to know what your app is like on a tablet device, not on a
|
||
phone. If you developed a tablet app, make sure to upload screenshots
|
||
of your tablet UI to the Google Play Developer Console. Here are some guidelines:
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<ul style="margin-top:0;">
|
||
<li>Show the core functionality of your app, not a
|
||
startup or sign-in page. Wherever users will spend most of their time, that's
|
||
what you should show in your screenshots.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Add screenshots taken on both 7-inch and 10-inch tablets.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Add screenshots taken in both landscape and
|
||
portrait orientations, if possible.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Use screen captures if possible. Avoid showing actual device hardware in your
|
||
screenshots.</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>The recommended resolution of your tablet screenshots is <strong>1280 x 720</strong>
|
||
or higher in each orientation.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Upload as many as 8 screenshots of your tablet UI for 7-inch tablets
|
||
and an additional 8 for 10-inch tablets.
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<h4>
|
||
Update your app description and release notes
|
||
</h4>
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>In your app description, make sure to highlight that your app offers
|
||
tablet-optimized UI and great features for tablet users. Add some
|
||
detail about how your tablet UI works and why users will like it.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Include information about tablet support in the app's release notes and
|
||
update information.
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<h4>
|
||
Update your promotional video
|
||
</h4>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Many users view an app's promotional video to get an idea of what the app is
|
||
like and whether they'll enjoy it. For tablet users, capitalize on this
|
||
interest by highlighting your app's tablet UI in your promotional video. Here
|
||
are some tips and guidelines:
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>Add one or more shots of your app running on a tablet. To engage with
|
||
tablet users most effectively, it's recommended that you promote your tablet
|
||
UI in approximately equal proportion to your phone UI.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Show your tablet UI as early as possible in the video. Don't assume that
|
||
tablet users will wait patiently through a feature walkthrough on a phone UI.
|
||
Ideally, you should engage them immediately by showing the tablet UI within
|
||
the first 10 seconds, or at the same point that you introduce the phone UI.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>To make it clear that you are showing a tablet UI, include shots of your
|
||
app running on a hand-held tablet device.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Highlight your app's tablet UI in the video's narrative or voiceover.
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<h4>
|
||
Feature your tablet UI in your promotional campaigns
|
||
</h4>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Make sure to let tablet users know about your tablet UI in your promotional
|
||
campaigns, web site, social posts, advertisements, and elsewhere. Here are
|
||
some suggestions:
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>Plan a marketing or advertising campaign that highlights the use of your
|
||
app on tablets.</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Show your tablet app at its best in your promotional campaigns—use the <a href=
|
||
"{@docRoot}distribute/tools/promote/device-art.html">Device Art Generator</a> to
|
||
quickly generate a high-quality promotional image of your app running on a
|
||
7-inch or 10-inch tablet, in the orientation of your choice, with or without
|
||
drop-shadow and screen glare. It's as simple as capture, drag, and drop.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Include a Google Play badge in your online promotions to let users link
|
||
directly to your app's store listing. You can generate a badge in a variety
|
||
of languages using the <a href=
|
||
"{@docRoot}distribute/tools/promote/badges.html">Badge Generator</a>.
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/showcase"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="9x3,9x3,9x3,9x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine">
|
||
<h2 id="google-play-best-practices">
|
||
12. Follow Best Practices for Publishing in Google Play
|
||
</h2>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Here are some best practices for delivering a successful tablet app on Google
|
||
Play.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<div>
|
||
<img class="border-img" src="{@docRoot}images/gp-tablet-quality-5.jpg" style=
|
||
"1px solid #ddd">
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<h4 id="google-play-optimization-tips">
|
||
Check out your app's Optimization Tips
|
||
</h4>
|
||
|
||
<p>The Google Play Developer Console now offers an Optimization Tips page that
|
||
lets you quickly check how your app is doing against basic guidelines for tablet app
|
||
distribution and quality. To visit the page, sign into the Developer Console,
|
||
load the app from All Applications, and click Optimization Tips in
|
||
the left navigation.</p>
|
||
|
||
<div class="sidebox-wrapper">
|
||
<div class="sidebox">
|
||
<h2>How to send feedback</h2>
|
||
|
||
<p>Please use the link below to send
|
||
feedback or request a manual review of your Optimization Tips.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>Make sure to read the relevant sections of the Tablet App Quality
|
||
Guidelines prior to sending feedback.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p><strong><a href="https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/contact/tabletq"
|
||
target="_googleplay" style="white-space:nowrap">Designed for Tablets Contact Form »</a></strong></p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<p>The Developer Console creates your app's Optimization Tips page
|
||
by running a series of checks to verify basic quality
|
||
criteria. If it finds any issues, it alerts you to them as "To Do"
|
||
items in the Optimization Tips page.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>If you've developed a tablet experience for your app, make sure
|
||
to visit the Optimization Tips page to see how your app is doing
|
||
against the basic checks. If there are any issues listed, we
|
||
recommend addressing them in your app and uploading a new binary for
|
||
distribution, if needed. </p>
|
||
|
||
<p>If the Optimization Tips page lists "To Do" issues that you feel don't
|
||
apply to your app or affect its quality on tablets, please notify us
|
||
using the <a href="https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/contact/tabletq"
|
||
target="_googleplay" style="white-space:nowrap">Designed for Tablets Contact Form »</a>. We
|
||
will review your app and update your Optimization Tips page as
|
||
appropriate.</p>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<h4>Confirm the app's filtering</h4>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
After you've uploaded the app to the <a href=
|
||
"https://play.google.com/apps/publish/">Developer Console</a>, check the
|
||
APK's Supported Devices list to make sure that the app is not filtered from
|
||
tablet devices that you want to target.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<h4>Distribute as a single APK</h4>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
It's recommended that you publish your app as a single APK for all screen
|
||
sizes (phones and tablets), with a single Google Play listing. This approach
|
||
has several important advantages.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<ul style="margin-top:.25em;">
|
||
<li>Easier for users to find your app from search, browsing, or promotions
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Easier for users to restore your app automatically if they get a new
|
||
device.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Your ratings and download stats are consolidated across all devices.
|
||
</li>
|
||
|
||
<li>Publishing a tablet app in a second listing can dilute ratings for your
|
||
brand.
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
If necessary, you can alternatively choose to deliver your app using <a href=
|
||
"{@docRoot}google/play/publishing/multiple-apks.html">Multiple APK Support</a>,
|
||
although in most cases using a single APK to reach all devices is strongly
|
||
recommended.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3>
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines/googleplay"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="9x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine">
|
||
<h2 id="test-environment">
|
||
Setting Up a Test Environment for Tablets
|
||
</h2>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Assess the quality of your app on tablets — both for core app quality and
|
||
tablet app quality — with a suitable hardware or emulator environment
|
||
for testing.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Compared to the <a href=
|
||
"{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/core.html#test-environment">recommended
|
||
test environment</a> for testing against the core app quality criteria,
|
||
include mid-size tablets and tablets with more or fewer hardware/software
|
||
features.
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
<p class="table-caption"><strong>Table 1</strong>. A typical tablet test environment might
|
||
include one or two devices from each row in the table below, with one of the
|
||
listed platform versions, screen configurations, and hardware feature configurations.</p>
|
||
|
||
<table>
|
||
<tr>
|
||
<th>Type</th>
|
||
<th>Size</th>
|
||
<th>Density</th>
|
||
<th>Version</th>
|
||
<th>AVD Skin</th>
|
||
</tr>
|
||
|
||
<tr>
|
||
<td>7-inch tablet</td>
|
||
<td><span style="white-space:nowrap"><code>large</code> or</span><br /><code>-sw600</code></td>
|
||
<td><code>hdpi</code>,<br /><code>tvdpi</code></td>
|
||
<td>Android 4.0+ (API level 14 and higher)</td>
|
||
<td>WXGA800-7in</td>
|
||
</tr>
|
||
<tr>
|
||
<td><span style="white-space:nowrap">10-inch</span> tablet</td>
|
||
<td><span style="white-space:nowrap"><code>xlarge</code> or</span><br /><code>-sw800</code></td>
|
||
<td><code>mdpi</code>,<br /><code>hdpi</code>,<br /><code>xhdpi</code></td>
|
||
<td>Android 3.2+ (API level 13 and higher)</td>
|
||
<td>WXGA800</td>
|
||
</tr>
|
||
</table>
|
||
|
||
<div class="headerLine"><h2 id="related-resources">Related Resources</h2></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13"
|
||
data-query="collection:distribute/essentials/tabletguidelines"
|
||
data-sortOrder="-timestamp"
|
||
data-cardSizes="9x3"
|
||
data-maxResults="6"></div> |