How do you install and automatically update application builds on Android TV for testers?

Question

I'm looking to install and automatically/one button update very early development builds of an application to Android TV devices in my household. I've initially tried Google Play using an internal track, but it turns out this is reviewed by a human initially and because of how incomplete the application is it was rejected. I do not want to get bogged down in design/etc. to get past the Play reviewers, especially with the current 7 day~ turn around time.

I found Firebase App Distribution, which seems like a decent choice for the kind of testing I want to achieve, but the set up process seems very mobile centric, and talks about clicking links in emails etc. which is not doable on Android TV.

My goals are:

• Get my not production ready application installed and automatically/one button press updated on Android TV

I've tried:

• Google play store internal track, rejected because of how "not production ready" it is
• Firebase App Distribution, but the tester registration process involves emails/flows not available on TV

So I guess my questions are:

• What are my options for installing and automatically updating signed test builds on Android TV?
• Is it possible to use Firebase App Distribution with Android TV apps? How do you register?

Currently I'm either having to get the devices near a laptop to adb install the APK, or pushing the APK to a network share and using a file manager on the TV devices to manually install and update the app.

Answer 1

This is a very good question, and as of August 2023, there is still no satisfactory one-stop solution for what you want to do. You have the following possibilities (all tested recently by me as I am developing a TV app as well):

1. Google Play testing tracks

Google play store internal track, rejected because of how "not production ready" it is

You are right that the distribution guidelines are incredibly strict, but you can still deploy your app, if you go to "Advanced Settings" --> "Form factors" --> Android TV and uncheck your opt-in there

I've tested this in internal and alpha, works like a charm, you can even configure your CI/CD to deploy there automatically

2. Firebase AppDistribution does kinda work...

You can install a firebase apptester apk on your TV via adb. You can get the apk File from any phone where you have it installed. It works surprisingly well on TV, the UI works, Login works, the app list works, the builds listing works, downloading and installing works

But... Launching the app is tricky, it won't show up on your TV because it does not have a banner or even TV support declared in the Manifest. So you have to fire this command every time you want to open AppTester: adb shell monkey -p dev.firebase.apptester -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1

Also some minor issues: the app crashes when allowing 3rd-party installs (only once) and it can't open your TV app after the install, you have to go back to the home screen and open it yourself, a minor inconvenience if you ask me.

If your QA-person is ready to use adb to launch AppTester, this is definitely a workable solution!

3. Installing the .apk "manually"

Your last option and the one we are currently using is to configure your CI/CD (Gitlab pipeline, Gihub Workflow, whatever) so that it deploys a signed .apk file upon every build to a pre-defined location. Then write a short batch / shell script that picks up the newest file from that location, calls adb connect and then adb install and lastly adb shell am start -n com.package.name/com.package.name.ActivityName all in one go.

Now your tester only has to double-click this file once you tell them there's a new version