Android Beta
Test the Android app before it reaches the Play Store
The app is built. Before it goes public we want it on real phones for a couple of weeks, because this is the first Android build and every manufacturer draws the same screen a little differently.
You get it early, and what you report gets fixed while the test is still running.
Use the Google account that is signed into the Play Store on your phone. A different one and the app will not show up for you.
Getting in takes two minutes
- 1
Join the tester group
A Google Group, skingrind-android-testers@googlegroups.com. Anyone can join, there is nothing to approve. It is only used to tell the Play Store who is allowed to download the app.
Join the group - 2
Say yes to the test
This is the step people skip, and without it the Play Store will not show you the app at all. Open the link and press Become a tester.
Become a tester - 3
Install from the Play Store
The same page has a download link once you have opted in. It can take ten or fifteen minutes before the Play Store catches up, so if it says the app is not available, wait a bit and open it again.
What we are asking for after that
Use the app like a normal app for a couple of weeks and say something when it misbehaves.
Stay opted in for the full two weeks
This is the one that matters. Leaving the test and rejoining later does not pick up where you left off, it starts the two weeks over, so please stay in until we say we are done. Uninstalling the app is not the same as opting out, but if you are finished with it, tell us rather than dropping out quietly.
Keep it on your phone and open it now and then
Check the Trade Up feed, search a skin, look at your inventory. There is no test script. We want to know where the Android build is slow, awkward or wrong when someone just uses it, and the problems worth catching tend to surface on the third or fourth day rather than the first evening.
Rate the build in the Play Store
On the SkinGrind page you installed from. Ratings on a closed test are private, only we see them, and they reach us with your device and Android version attached, which is usually what explains the bug.
Tell us what broke
In the Discord. Anything that crashed, looked wrong on your screen, or was slower than it should be. Mention which phone you are on. We ship fixes while the test is running, so it is worth saying early.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why a closed test instead of just launching?
- Because this is the first Android build and Android is where the surprises are. iOS is one company's hardware; Android is hundreds of screen sizes, three or four different ideas about how the back gesture works, and manufacturer skins that render the same layout differently. We would rather find that on twenty phones than in the store reviews.
- Is this a rough build?
- No. It is the same app that is on the App Store, same features, same data, same backend. What has not been through anything is the Android side of it, which is the whole point of the test.
- What do I get for it?
- The app, before it is public, and a direct line to the people building it. Tell us something is broken and you will see the fix land during the test rather than months later. If that is not worth two weeks of your time, wait for the store release, no hard feelings.
- How long does it run?
- Around two weeks from the point you opt in. The one thing we would ask is that you stay opted in for the whole stretch. Dropping out and rejoining later does not resume where you left off, it starts your two weeks again, so a change of mind on day nine costs the nine days rather than pausing them.
- I joined the group but the app is not there
- Two things are usually behind it. Either you have not opened the opt-in link and pressed Become a tester, which is a separate step from joining the group, or the Play Store has not caught up yet, which takes ten or fifteen minutes. If it is still missing after that, check you are signed into the Play Store with the same Google account you joined the group with.
- Does my Google address get used for anything else?
- No. It sits in the Google Group so the Play Store knows you are allowed to download the app, and that is the whole of it. You can leave the group whenever you like, but leaving takes you out of the test, so it is worth waiting until the test is over.
- What happens when the test finishes?
- The app goes up on the Play Store properly and you keep the copy you already have. It updates onto the public version by itself, so there is nothing to reinstall and nothing you lose.