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I created a standalone smartwatch app for Wear OS. I use a Huawei Watch 2 4G for testing. I now want to have it in the beta track on Google Play Store so that users can test it. I've created some smartphone apps already and put them in the Play Store, so I'm used to the process. What I did so far:

  • Created entry on Google Play Console
  • Added a release to the open beta track
  • Filled all necessary stuff
  • Published the app and got the URL to participate in the beta test
  • Opened the URL while logged in with my test account and agreed to become a tester
  • Wiped the smartwatch and copied the same account to the watch during setup

Now I don't know how to install the app from the Play Store. On a smartphone I would simply open the URL in a browser and would be able to install it from there. What I tried so far:

  • Searching for the app name and for the package name on the Play Store on the smartwatch, but it can't find it.
  • Opening the Play Store entry in a browser and click the install button, but it says that I have no devices.
  • Opening the URL on the paired smartphone, but it only says that the device is not compatible.

How can I install a standalone Wear OS app that is in the open beta track on Google Play Store?

m-rm
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    A few things you might want to verify are: 1) Make sure that your app is targeting Wear 2.0 devices. 2) Make sure it's a standalone app. 3) Make sure it's has in the manifest file. 4) Make sure to opt-in for distribution on the Wear OS platform (in the Pricing and Distribution section of the Play Console). 5) Give it some time. Sometimes the alpha and beta channels takes a while to publish. – TofferJ Mar 27 '19 at 22:38
  • @TofferJ if the WearOS app is not standalone, the same rules still apply? I'm trying to figure out how to distribute the app to testers while it's still in development so I don't want to do step 4) as it requires uploading app screenshots which are not production ready. – Roman Samoilenko Jul 09 '20 at 08:00
  • @RomanSamoilenko afaik, the screenshots will only be seen by the testers. You can change the screenshots later when you are production ready. – m-rm Jul 10 '20 at 09:29

1 Answers1

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As suggest in @tofferj 's comment I simply had to wait a few more hours. I'm now able to find it by simply searching for the app name in the Play Store on the smartwatch.

Seems like the status "published" on the Google Play Console doesn't mean that it's already in the search index.

m-rm
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  • Had you already gotten the "Your update is now live on the Play store" notification? – Sterling Mar 28 '19 at 13:39
  • You mean in the Google Play Console? I remember that I saw the notification at some point, but I'm not sure if I checked the Play Store afterwards or if I'd already given up. – m-rm Mar 28 '19 at 14:26
  • Yes, in the Play Console. If you're serious about deploying apps to Play, I'd also recommend installing the Play Console app on your phone; it will notify you much more directly when updates go live. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.playconsole – Sterling Mar 29 '19 at 03:28