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I need to restrict the devices to which an app is available in the Play Store (specifically, I need it to be available to phones only, no tablets)

After some researching, I got this to do the job

    <compatible-screens>
    <!-- all small size screens -->
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="ldpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="mdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="hdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="xhdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="xxhdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="xxxhdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="280" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="360" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="420" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="480" />
    <screen android:screenSize="small" android:screenDensity="560" />
    <!-- all normal size screens -->
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="ldpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="mdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="hdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="xhdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="xxhdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="xxxhdpi" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="280" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="360" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="420" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="480" />
    <screen android:screenSize="normal" android:screenDensity="560" />
</compatible-screens>

The latest, more specific resolutions are after a first attempt with only the string-named ones, which didn't cover a lot of devices by themselves (-very very- incomplete Google docs about this)

Strange thing is, with this config it seems I got all phone devices covered. At least that's what the Play Console shows in the device catalog

But, in practice it's not the case. Example: I tried installing the app on a Galaxy Note 10+, and I got the message that the app is not supported in that device, while in the Play Console it shows up as fully supported. Same with a Samsung S10.

How the Play Console shows support for the Note 10+

And this is what I see in the actual device

How the app's Play Store profile looks like in the device

So, apart from the fact that this seems like an actual issue with the config or the Play Console device catalog... is there anything I can do to workaround this? The main issue is that I cannot be sure which devices are actually supported and which are not, unless I check them one by one

Thank you!

Esteban Miño
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  • I think you should try this https://firebase.google.com/docs/test-lab – Diwyansh Jan 03 '22 at 14:29
  • thank you @Diwyansh! I haven't used it before. What would this add to the situation? Does it show me the actual supported devices? It would give me some clarity, but would not fix anything right? – Esteban Miño Jan 03 '22 at 14:43
  • It's not gonna fix anything but may give you the conclusion that whether your app is supported on your desired device or not. After that we have to look for the reason that problem is is app or something wrong with play console. – Diwyansh Jan 03 '22 at 14:47
  • did you find any solution? – Bruno Morais Apr 14 '22 at 11:04
  • @BrunoMorais not yet, I escalated this to Google support team and they in turn escalated it internally, so it may be a real issue on their side. They should contact me in case they find a solution, so waiting for now – Esteban Miño Aug 12 '22 at 09:41

0 Answers0