Google Play Listings Now Support Distinct "What's New" Text For Alpha, Beta, And Production Channels

Developers have certainly made great use of the Alpha and Beta distribution channels in the Play Store since they became available last summer. There was one glaring oversight: developers could only write a single block of text for the "What's New" section. This often led to changelogs that left beta testers in the dark about changes or confusing regular users with promises of new features and fixes that hadn't yet materialized in the stable channel. Well, this problem ends today. Google has finally opened up support for distinct changelog text for each channel!

Things don't look all that different from before. After uploading a new apk to the developer console, just click on the new entry to bring up details and hit "add text." When a user looks at the What's New section for your app, they will see text for the channel they will be downloading from.

When it comes time to promote a version from one channel to another, the What's New text and all of its translations can be carried across. Google has already copied changelogs for your existing apks across all of the channels you're currently using, but they can be updated at any time.

Channel-specific changelogs have certainly been a looooooooong time coming, but it's welcome nonetheless. Now, developers, it's your turn. Start writing!

Source: Google Support via DroidLife

Cody Toombs

Cody is a Software Engineer and Writer with a mildly overwhelming obsession with smartphones and the mobile world. If he’s been pulled away from the computer for any length of time, you might find him talking about cocktails and movies, sometimes resulting in the consumption of both.

source: androidpolice