iPhone X AdMob Ad Rendering Question!

Solar2D Monetization (in-app purchases, ads, etc.)
#1

I just got an email regarding the new iPhoneX from AdMob which says I have to rework all apps which have banner ads on top (or bottom) of the screen because the new iPhoneX will have this black area for the home indicator which is placed over ads then.

This also means AdMob will bring a new SDK for interstitials to avoid buttons from getting behind this area.

Will Corona update the plugin in time (deadline November 20!)?

And how can banners now be placed inside Corona to get approved by AdMob for iPhoneX displays?

Is there a way to look up if the device is a new iPhoneX maybe from inside the code, so banner placement can be handled different only for iPhoneX?

Thx!

#2

I think you are in good shape now.  The show function provides y-position control:

https://docs.coronalabs.com/plugin/admob/show.html

SSK2 has detection code for all iPhones:

https://github.com/roaminggamer/SSK2/blob/master/ssk2/system.lua

if ( ssk.system.oniPhoneX ) then elseif( ssk.system.oniPhone8 or ssk.system.oniPhone8Plus ) ...
#3

Thx for the info.

AdMob has some info here and they are talking about an updated sdk for interstitials from their end… see the last paragraph on this site:

https://developers.google.com/admob/ios/x-ad-rendering

Thx again!

#4

Is the XCode simulator intentionally not showing banner ads for the iPhone X? I can’t get it to show any landscape banner ads whereas it works for other simulated devices.

#5

What does your debug code say?  How about messages in the xCode console?

#6

According to the console program under Applications/Utilities/Console, my debug ‘print’ statements in the adListener indicate that the “init” phase occurred BUT NOT the “loaded” phase. However, both phases show up when I simulate non-iPhone X devices.

I am using the latest daily build, 2017.3161.

#7

Anyone else having the same issue?  I’m sure people have tried it…

To summarize:  I can confirm that banners can display at the bottom of the screen in both portrait and landscape orientation for all NON-iPhone X devices in the Xcode simulator.  However if you choose the iPhone X there is no ad shown.  The adsListener function gets the “init” event phase but not the “loaded” phase…

#8

Can someone from Corona (@Ingemar?) confirm that the AdMob plugin currently will NOT show AdMob ads for the iPhone X?

I hope the answer is that it does not show ads. As things stand currently I do not want to update my iOS apps due to Apple’s increasingly stringent review guidelines and reviewers’ arbitrary interpretation of them.

In short, if Corona fails to show banners and full screen ads on the iPhone X then I will contact AdMob directly and request that they continue to show ads on my account. As things stand, Nov 20th is the cutoff date.

From AdMob: 

"To ensure that users always have great experiences on your app, and to continue receiving AdMob ads, update your banner and native ad placements to designated “safe areas” for iPhone X by November 20. We’ve put together an implementation guide to help you with these changes.                                              "

#9

What does AdMob mean by November 20 cutoff? What are they gonna do? Will they prevent showing our ads when they display on the iPhone X? Or will they prevent showing those same ad units on all iPhone devices? I think it’s a bit vague and too short of a notice.

#10

Here is the full text of the email:

Dear Developer, The iPhone X is here and with it, new design considerations – the device’s rounded corners, notch and home screen indicator on the extended screen can obscure content. When ads are placed in these areas, users will have poor ad experiences. To ensure that users always have great experiences on your app, and to continue receiving AdMob ads, update your banner and native ad placements to designated “safe areas” for iPhone X by November 20. We’ve put together an implementation guide to help you with these changes. Updating the ad placements will also help you stay compliant with our new ad policies that do not allow ads to be placed where objects may interfere with the user’s typical interaction with the ad or app. admob_iphone_x_publisher_policy_01.pngExample of ad appearing outside of “safe area” on iPhone X If you have any questions, visit the AdMob Help Center or contact your Google account team. Thanks, The AdMob Team

#11

Yesterday I had $8.29 eCPM for full screen interstitials with AdMob. No other ad provider comes close for revenue in my experience.

The prospect of updating all my apps fills me with horror. Apple will randomly reject some of them as always. They are asking many developers to put all their apps in a container app and/or spam rejecting apps. It’s widespread.

@Ingemar @Corona - hopefully you can confirm that the current AdMob plugin does not serve ads on the iPhone X. If that’s the case I will contact AdMob and try to get them to leave my ads on (a challenge in itself).

#12

What are they gonna do? Will they prevent showing our ads when they display on the iPhone X? Or will they prevent showing those same ad units on all iPhone devices? I think it’s a bit vague and too short of a notice. 

@dislam - you make a good point. It is vague. My email was from admob-noreply@google.com

I really do not know what they will do. I’ll have to keep an eye on this forum and online and check my AdMob dashboard on the 21st November. Perhaps they will continue to serve ads on non iPhone X devices? Hmmm…

#13

Yes I had received the email the same time as you. I think I’ll check the google discussion boards later to get more info.

#14

https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!category-topic/google-admob-ads-sdk/ios/oRFk3v59-NE

“They should be able to work fine on older devices. However, you would have to make specific changes to how you are implementing your Banner Ads if you plan to support iPhone X. “

So my understanding is ads will remain on older devices and won’t display on the iPhone X.

I’m in a rush to leave right now, but maybe you’ll find more discussion here -
https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!categories/google-admob-ads-sdk/ios

#15

I’ve alerted the team to this.  Let’s wait until they figure out what’s going on.

Rob

#16

Thanks Rob.

@dislam … interesting. Perhaps AdMob will serve ads to non iPhone X devices only as things stand before Corona update the AdMob SDK. 

@Corona I have built with Xcode 8.3.3 and Corona 3126. Hopefully Corona’s version of AdMob SDK will not serve banner and interstitials to iPhone X? 

#17

Hi Rob,

Thanks again as usual for looking into it.

I can confirm that interstitials however DO work on iPhone X.  Only the banners aren’t working.

#18

First of all, we offer API’s that will return to you the safe offset for the iPhone X. In fact, your app should use safe zone offsets for all platforms as we take status bars and such into account. If your app always is rendered in the safe zone, it won’t matter what device you’re on.

I don’t know why banners would not display.  There isn’t anything special in our plugin and I don’t know that we’ve updated it recently.

I realize that submitting to Apple can be a challenge, but you don’t want to rule out what could be one of the most popular devices of all time. People are already trading their iPhone 8’s they just bought to get the X.

If you do, you should update to Xcode 9.0.1. You should build against the iOS 11 SDK in Corona. You will need to make sure you’re using the appropriate storyboard based launch images and the xcassets based Icons to submit.

Existing apps should pass with little human review problems since they are already in the store.

Rob

#19

Rob - has anyone in your team tested the banners out with the Xcode simulator for iPhone X?  I am using the latest Xcode as well as the iOS 11 SDK.  I am not planning to purchase the phone itself so the Xcode simulator is my only way to verify things are working.

Also, any idea why the ad will trigger the ‘init’ event, but is not loading; i.e. ads.isLoaded(“banner”) returns false?  Again, this works for the other devices in the simulator, but not the iPhone X.

#20

Existing apps should pass with little human review problems since they are already in the store.

 

Rob

If only that were true! I and MANY others have experienced differently. Apple have tightened up the guidelines. Many developers are either being spam rejected or told to fold all their “similar” apps into one container app.

This thread is typical of developer experiences…

http://iphonedevsdk.com/forum/business-legal-app-store/123645-spam-policy-by-app-reviewers-what-to-do.html