Specifying minimum CPU requirement for Android apps

Solar2D Android
#1

Hello, clever people. I’m in the process of porting my app, DJ Mix Fix, from iOS to Android.

I have a problem in that it doesn’t run very well on less powerful devices, and because of the nature of the app, when it doesn’t run well, the sound cuts in and out, rendering the app useless.

There are probably many reasons for this and I know long-term the solution would be to work on optimising the code (or realistically, re-writing it from scratch), but that’s not really an option at the moment as far as I can tell with the limited time and coding skills I currently have.

I’ve got around the problem on iOS by specifying certain features of more recent iOS devices as requirements, which then limits the app’s compatibility to more powerful devices (iPhone 4 and later, basically).

However, as a newbie Android developer I’ve yet to find a similar way to do this for Android devices. I don’t want to make the app available for devices which I know can’t handle it.

If this approach isn’t possible then I guess I’ll have to look further into optimisation, but it’s already pretty simple as it is.

Any help appreciated.
Tony [import]uid: 111970 topic_id: 35001 reply_id: 335001[/import]

#2

I don’t think there’s a good way to do this unfortunately. One option you have is to specifically exclude devices in the Google Play publisher panel. But there are around 1590 devices to sort through just by name and manufacturer so this might take a long time.

I don’t think Corona lets you specify a different minimum android version than 2.2, which would otherwise be a good way to exclude a lot of older devices (But might also exclude many devices that would work fine).

The best solution might be just to put a note in the description of your application explaining that it doesn’t work well on slower devices. Also maybe release a free demo version for people to try it out on their device before paying 99c for the full one.
[import]uid: 135827 topic_id: 35001 reply_id: 139207[/import]

#3

Hmmm… I suspected this wouldn’t be possible. Even if I could limit it to newer OS versions, that wouldn’t work in all cases, as some older devices can still be upgraded to Android 4.1.2 (Samsung Nexus S, for example).

Perhaps a free trial version is the way forward. Thanks for the response. [import]uid: 111970 topic_id: 35001 reply_id: 139320[/import]

#4

I don’t think there’s a good way to do this unfortunately. One option you have is to specifically exclude devices in the Google Play publisher panel. But there are around 1590 devices to sort through just by name and manufacturer so this might take a long time.

I don’t think Corona lets you specify a different minimum android version than 2.2, which would otherwise be a good way to exclude a lot of older devices (But might also exclude many devices that would work fine).

The best solution might be just to put a note in the description of your application explaining that it doesn’t work well on slower devices. Also maybe release a free demo version for people to try it out on their device before paying 99c for the full one.
[import]uid: 135827 topic_id: 35001 reply_id: 139207[/import]

#5

Hmmm… I suspected this wouldn’t be possible. Even if I could limit it to newer OS versions, that wouldn’t work in all cases, as some older devices can still be upgraded to Android 4.1.2 (Samsung Nexus S, for example).

Perhaps a free trial version is the way forward. Thanks for the response. [import]uid: 111970 topic_id: 35001 reply_id: 139320[/import]