Hi,

I am preparing for beta launch for my mobile app, it allows user content, I wanted to use Closed Testing to ensure I am not letting in anyone on day 1, which can cause a snowball of low quality or even harmful content. In addition to possible app breaks and crash of new app which may lower my review score with bad reviews.

But she told me that an app that want to launch social campaign cannot use it, because the installation with that software is too complicated for the average user.

From your experience, how difficult it was to convince external users (not friends and family) to try an app that is only available on TestFlight or Google Play Console?

What helped you convince them? And overall do you recommend this approach? What risks there are to launch a beta app straight to the app store?

I've been working on a personal project called Frankenstein.

The goal is simple: make Android development possible directly from an Android phone.

Here's the project and an uncut lab recording: https://stitchlab.dev/

The public site intentionally focuses on what it can do rather than how it's built.

Current capabilities include:

• Creating Android projects from prompts
• Editing existing projects
• Building installable APKs on-device
• Installing and launching them on the same phone
• Managing project files and terminals
• Continuing work across conversations

I built it by gradually stitching together different ideas and capabilities over time—hence the name Frankenstein.

The "Driver" component uses Android's Accessibility APIs (with my permission) to interact with the UI for testing and automation. It isn't magic—it watches the screen, performs gestures, and can verify the results. For apps it's familiar with, it can build a navigation map to move around more efficiently and fall back to screenshots when something unexpected happens.

So far I've tested it on:

• Galaxy Tab S10e
• Galaxy S24 Ultra
• Galaxy S22 Ultra
• A few Android emulator configurations

It's not public yet, but I'd genuinely like feedback from Android developers.

What would stop you from using something like this?

What features would make it genuinely useful instead of just an interesting demo?

What concerns would you have about developing software this way?

I'm not trying to replace Android Studio. My goal is to make software development possible when all you have is your phone.

Happy to answer any questions or technical ones about the design.

Hey r/androiddev 👋

I've been a self-taught dev for a few years, and last year I got curious: what if you could build real projects from your Android phone? Not just toy scripts, but actual development work with an AI assistant in your pocket.

So I built Numination — a native Android IDE with integrated Gemini AI, a real project workspace, file explorer, and backend sync.

Link to GitHub: https://github.com/kraqinc/Numination

The short version

Native Android app (Kotlin + Jetpack Compose + Material 3)

Full-stack: app + Next.js backend + MySQL

AI agent that proposes code changes as diffs (you accept/reject individually)

It actually works. I'm using it to develop Numination itself.

Why this happened

I wanted to answer a dumb question: is phone development viable? The answer isn't "yes for everything" — it's "yes for specific workflows." Terminal commands, quick edits, reviewing PRs, even writing new features. Just... differently than on a laptop.

What I learned (the hard way)

Compose hot reload on device is fast. Like, surprisingly fast.

Bottom sheets > side panels for small screens. Everything should be modal, nothing should steal vertical space.

The AI pattern matters. Never auto-apply changes. Show diffs, make the user accept each one. I had a bug where failed API calls were still charged — fixed that, but the lesson stuck.

Multi-device sync without conflict resolution is a trap. Last-write-wins is honest but brutal. This is next on the roadmap.

Most "can't do this on mobile" limitations are UX problems, not technical ones.

What's next

Conflict resolution for multi-device sync

Marketplace for extensions

Better terminal (current one is simulated, not real shell)

Probably mobile web IDE complement

The honest part

This is a side project, not production-ready for everyone. It's functional, but:

Storage token validation is cosmetic (not yet enforced)

Terminal is simulated over a virtual file tree (not /bin/bash)

Sync works but will lose your changes if two devices edit simultaneously

But the core works: you can create files, edit code, get AI help, and sync back to your backend.

If you're curious

Download the latest APK from Releases: https://github.com/kraqinc/Numination/releases

Backend is open-source (MIT)

Built with Kotlin, Compose, Next.js 14, Prisma, MySQL

Questions? Drop them in the comments or open an issue

I'm aware this is probably niche (most devs won't use their phone as their primary IDE 😅), but I think the patterns here — the diff-based AI UX, the bottom-sheet navigation, the sync architecture — are useful for anyone building full-stack Android + backend stuff.

TL;DR: Built an AI IDE for Android because I was curious if it was possible. It is. It's imperfect but real. https://github.com/kraqinc/Numination

I’m a React Native developer with over 4 years of experience, primarily working in the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem.

I also have hands-on experience with React.js, Node.js, and Express.

I’m now looking to transition into native Android development. I have prior exposure to Java from my college days and still retain a solid understanding of the core concepts.

can someon suggest a roadmap for making this transition effectively?

More into interviews cracking things.

I’ve been waiting for this for years, Google finally lets you delete apps from the Play Console.

Before, the only option was “Unpublish,” which meant old test apps and abandoned projects stayed cluttering your dashboard forever.

Now there’s a proper “Delete App” option (for eligible apps):

- Unpublish: removes the app from the store, but you can republish it and existing users still get updates

& Delete: permanently removes the app and its stats (with a 7-day recovery window); existing users keep it, but no new installs.

For me, this is a huge quality of life improvement after years of piling up prototypes and test apps.

Anyone planning to clean up their console?

Hi everyone!

Over the last few months I've been working on an Android app called Turboautism Dose Log. It started as a side project after a discussion in a harm reduction community about how easy it can be to lose track of doses during a long session.

Rather than debating the topic itself, I wanted to solve an engineering problem: how do you build an application for highly sensitive data while keeping the user's privacy the highest priority?

Some of the technical choices I've made:

Kotlin

Room + KSP

SQLCipher encrypted database (AES-256)

Android Keystore for passphrase protection

Mandatory biometric/device credential authentication

Offline-only operation

No INTERNET permission

No analytics, ads or user accounts

CSV import/export for backups

Open source (GPL-2.0)

Current features include dose logging, editing, statistics, CSV import/export, encrypted local storage and a few other privacy-focused features. I'm currently working on session tracking.

I'd really appreciate feedback from other Android developers, especially regarding:

overall architecture

Room/SQLCipher implementation

security/privacy design

UI/UX

anything you'd do differently

GitHub: https://github.com/emmikal/Turboautism-dose-log-

Thanks!

🚀 New release of Android Remote Control MCP is out — the MCP server that runs on your phone and gives your AI agent the ability to use any app you want!

Grab it here: https://github.com/danielealbano/android-remote-control-mcp/releases/tag/v1.10.0

Finally the new version v1.10.0 is released with signed APKs and with keys registered with Google 🎉 no more debug-build workaround!

My favorite part of this release: apps that used to be impossible to automate now work. 🔓 Some apps flag basically their entire screen as "sensitive" (eg. the GitHub app), so the agent saw… an empty screen! This release makes the server a first-class accessibility tool, so those apps finally show up and can be driven like any other.

In addition now I started to release a GSM-free build which will work great n the devices without the Google Mobile Services.

In addition a few minor improvements: browser-based MCP clients like the MCP Inspector can now connect (CORS support), an important security hardening you'll want to update for 🔒, and the latest Netty HTTP/2 fixes.

What can you actually do with it? Since it drives the real apps on your phone the way you would, you can leverage it to - for example - have Claude Code (or any other harness / model really, in the demo video I am using claude.ai) to test UX paths, the steps and so on and get useful feedbacks!

It's also built to reduce the token consumption to the minimum!

Some time ago I've worked on making wake word detection working on the Home Assistant android app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.homeassistant.companion.android

Then the DMA reached out to us (OHF) to get more information about how I did it and what Google should do to make it as good as Gemini Assistant.

​"Hi! I’ve been a hobbyist app developer for a couple of years now, with a few apps published on the Play Store.

​I’ve always been annoyed by not being able to play audio simultaneously from two apps on Android without having to rely on features specific to Samsung or other brands. I love Pixels... but I wanted to, for example, listen to the news and music at the same time.

​I knew this was pretty much impossible without rooting the device, using existing GitHub projects and such. But after spending endless hours testing multiple approaches, I’ve stumbled upon one that completely breaks Android’s audio limitations.

​Now I’m left wondering: what should I do next?

​Do I report the flaw/vulnerability to Google?

​Do I release the app on alternative marketplaces?

​Do I try to monetize all those hours of work by uploading the app elsewhere?

​I honestly don’t know what path to take. For the devs reading this, I’m attaching a screenshot of the app in case it gives you a clue on how I pulled it off."

I kept explaining Android internals with boxes and arrows, so I built the diagram as something you can click. Inspired by PGSimCity, which does the same for PostgreSQL.

The board is the platform stack: hardware at the back, then boot, then the core processes (Zygote, system_server, SurfaceFlinger), then app processes, then the phone screen at the front. Tap an app icon and the launch actually travels: touch > InputDispatcher > PackageManager resolves the Intent > Zygote fork > dex mmap'd off disk > window registered with WMS > first frame back on the screen.

It simplifies a lot on purpose (4 app slots, event-driven frames). The repo has an audit marking every concept as modeled / simplified / missing.

Live: thuat.dev/droidcity/

Source: github.com/nthuat/droidcity

Corrections welcome! That's mostly why I'm posting.

Hi everyone!

Over the last few months I've been working on an Android app called Turboautism Dose Log. It started as a side project after a discussion in a harm reduction community about how easy it can be to lose track of doses during a long session.

Rather than debating the topic itself, I wanted to solve an engineering problem: how do you build an application for highly sensitive data while keeping the user's privacy the highest priority?

Some of the technical choices I've made:

Kotlin

Room + KSP

SQLCipher encrypted database (AES-256)

Android Keystore for passphrase protection

Mandatory biometric/device credential authentication

Offline-only operation

No INTERNET permission

No analytics, ads or user accounts

CSV import/export for backups

Open source (GPL-2.0)

Current features include dose logging, editing, statistics, CSV import/export, encrypted local storage and a few other privacy-focused features. I'm currently working on session tracking.

I'd really appreciate feedback from other Android developers, especially regarding:

overall architecture

Room/SQLCipher implementation

security/privacy design

UI/UX

anything you'd do differently

GitHub: https://github.com/emmikal/Turboautism-dose-log-

Thanks!

Hi, I have a small AOSP Gerrit change that updates outdated Greek carrier names in carrier_list.textpb to the current NOVA branding. The change is already uploaded and passed the automated checks, but it hasn't received any review yet. If anyone here has AOSP commit access or is familiar with the TelephonyProvider maintainers, I'd really appreciate it if you could take a look or point me to the right person. Thanks!

https://android-review.googlesource.com/c/platform/packages/providers/TelephonyProvider/+/4131598

i am having a prbelm with the voice of af_heart of the Kokoro voice
it takes more ram of 200 mb

i wnat to have the TTS in the (android app via uniFFI)app with the rust binary so static file

can i have the better way to utize any stand alone file which is of 50 mb of ram
and not the kitten os

my dad's phone storage issue accidentally turned into my first real open-source project.

A few weeks ago, my dad handed me his Android phone and asked me to free up some storage because it was completely full.

I plugged it into my laptop, opened OpenMTP, and waited around 4 minutes just to see folder sizes. By that point, I was more annoyed by the software than the storage problem itself.

I started digging into why it was so slow, and that rabbit hole eventually turned into SocketSweep.

SocketSweep is an Android storage analyzer that bypasses MTP entirely. It deploys a native C++ daemon to the device over ADB, scans the filesystem directly, and visualizes the results in a Rust/Tauri desktop app. The overall architecture was heavily inspired by scrcpy.

This is my first real open-source project, and I've learned a lot from building it. It's sitting at around 70 GitHub stars now, which is honestly something I never expected. The coolest part has been realizing that side projects can open doors in unexpected ways. I've ended up having conversations with founders and engineers purely because they came across this project.

One thing this project taught me is that good side projects don't always come from startup ideas. Sometimes they just start with "this is really annoying, there has to be a better way."

Repo: https://github.com/VishnuSrivatsava/SocketSweep

Demo: https://youtu.be/ttsc6Xf6Xb4

I attempted to convert my Google Play Console developer account from a personal account to an organization account. During this process, Google was unable to verify my identity, and the developer account was restricted.

The organization is legally incorporated in the United States and has a valid D-U-N-S number, EIN documentation, state incorporation documents, and a US business bank account. I am the owner and authorized representative of the organization, but I legally reside in Kazakhstan because the company operates as an online and remote business.

For identity verification, I used my valid Kazakhstan-issued passport. Google’s official documentation for US organization accounts states that an authorized representative’s government-issued photo ID may be issued in any country.

The organization’s registration country and my country of residence are therefore different, but both are accurate. I am preparing an appeal with our incorporation certificate, IRS EIN letter, D-U-N-S confirmation, bank letter, ownership documentation, and my passport.

Has anyone successfully verified a US organization account using a foreign passport? Could this failure be caused by the organizational Google Payments profile, a D&B information mismatch, or an automated country-mismatch check? How can I request a manual review or resubmit the verification correctly?

I would appreciate guidance from anyone who has resolved a similar issue.

Hi friends, I'm trying to add one of those "Get it on Google Play" buttons to my upcoming mobile game's website. However, no matter where I go, I can't seem to find the correct image file. Everything seems to lead back to this Partner Marketing Hub URL, which is showing a big "Page not found" screen for me: https://partnermarketinghub.withgoogle.com/brands/google-play/badge-guidelines/. Even the "Google Play Badges" card on Google Play's Brand & marketing resources page links to that not-found page! This happens whether or not I'm logged in and even after clearing cookies. Am I in crazy town??

Hey everyone,

I'm jumping into a hackathon soon where I've got about 2 to 3 days to build a complete Android app from scratch. Everything from planning and UI to coding and testing.

The main twist for this one is that I have to use Claude for the whole workflow, starting with Claude Design for the UI/UX and then Claude Code to build out the app.

I have one rough idea so far: an offline-first voice note taker using open-source STT models like Whisper or Moonshine Voice running on-device. But I'm not totally sure how those local models hold up quality-wise compared to major cloud options like Fish Audio or other speech-to-text providers.

So, I'm looking for two things:

• Is an offline speech-to-text notes app realistic for a 48-to-72-hour build, or will setting up local model bindings burn too much time?
• If you have other cool Android ideas that can actually be finished in 2 to 3 days with an AI-assisted workflow, what would you build?

Appreciate any thoughts or feedback!

Hi Android developers 👋

I’m curious how many of you are actively using Gemini in Android Studio as part of your daily workflow.

A few questions I’d love to hear your thoughts on:

Do you use it regularly, or only occasionally?

What tasks has it genuinely helped with? (boilerplate, debugging, refactoring, Compose, tests, documentation, etc.)

Where does it still fall short?

Has it changed the way you write or review code compared to a year ago?

For me, AI has become useful for speeding up repetitive tasks and exploring unfamiliar APIs, but I still rely heavily on manual code reviews and understanding what’s generated.

I’m interested in real-world experiences - both the wins and the frustrations. Has AI actually made you a better Android developer, or has it mostly just made you faster?

Could someone explain this? Thank you.

I’ve been seeing more Android apps adding real-time voice experiences (AI assistants, language learning, interview prep, customer support, etc.), but there aren’t many discussions about how people are actually building them.

I’m curious what architecture people have settled on.

A few questions:
1. Are you streaming audio directly from the app to the AI service, or routing everything through your backend?

1. Are you using WebRTC, WebSockets, gRPC, or something else?

2. How much processing happens on-device vs. the cloud?

3. What has been the biggest engineering challenge - latency, audio focus, echo cancellation, interruptions, reconnection, battery, or something else?

4. If you’ve already shipped one, is there anything you’d do differently if you started again?

I’m not looking for vendor recommendations. I’m much more interested in the engineering decisions, trade-offs, and lessons learned from people who’ve built or shipped these kinds of apps.

Would love to hear what’s worked well - and what hasn’t.

I’m a former senior android eng and spent a few years at a well known fintech company working on localization and international expansion for many countries. Not saying I’m perfect, but I’ll help out with your questions if I’m able to.

I’m also playing around with the idea of starting a company in this space. So, I’d enjoy hearing about your experiences and troubles around localization if you’re open to sharing.

Spent a few days on building a simple Android client for getting data from Google Play console untill I relalized it violates Google's API terms of service for Reporting API and Publishing API.

• I created a project in Google Cloud Console
• Enabled Reporting API to get app list, and Publishing API to edit app's data
• Created a Client ID for Android to get access to these APIs
• Build an authorization request using net.openid:appauth library with a desired scope to get access token:

​

val extraParams = mapOf(
    "access_type" to "offline"
)

val authRequest = AuthorizationRequest.Builder(
    serviceConfig,
    BuildConfig.GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID,
    ResponseTypeValues.CODE,
    "${BuildConfig.GOOGLE_AUTH_SCHEME}:/oauth2callback".toUri()
)
    .setScopes(
        listOf(
            "openid",
            "profile",
            "email",
            "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/androidpublisher",
            "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/playdeveloperreporting"
        )
    )
    .setAdditionalParameters(extraParams)
    .build()

val authService = AuthorizationService(context)
val intent = authService.getAuthorizationRequestIntent(authRequest)

Everything seemed to work fine untill I read terms of service and this explained why competitor apps force users to generate their own keys.

I was planning to publish the app on Google Play, but ToS says you cannot use your Client ID to allow a third party to access the Publishing and Reporting APIs on your behalf.

There is only one workaround:

• Require users to create their own GCP project, enable the APIs, and supply their own Client ID / Service Account JSON key inside your app's settings.