Install a testing beacon android app alongside the production app

[Piiit]

Currently we are building a debug release apk to be installed manually on a phone. It has the same application ID assigned, and therefore it overwrites the existing installation from Google Stores...

We should have both apps at the same time with two different IDs and titles, like "Beacons" and "Beacons (Test)"

[Piiit]

@noctho Do you know, how I can configure that?

[davidebz]

Hi Peter,

in the past I have used the "beta" of the play store. You can upload an apk that only a predefined list of account can upgrade to/install this update but normal users see only the official one. What do you think about this?

[Piiit]

@davidebz We used that approach, but at the moment Google needs about 2-3 days to release it, and therefore we build and install apks now manually. However, that is not what I needed here... I do not want to have to reinstall the production application all the time after that I have tested a beta application... So what I want is to test both apps at the same time, the production and testing one, which are also differently configured, talking to different APIs etc.... For the beta/alpha testing we have that approach already on the store... But thanks for your suggestions, normally this would be a good approach... but this case is a bit special (as always) ;-)

[davidebz]

Ok! What about to have two distinct mobile phone? One with the official and a second with the beta version to compare functions?

[noctho]

If you want to have both apps installed on your phone, you'll need a different package name. I don't know if it works, but you can try to change the package name of the debug android manifest and you can set a different app name there too.

In the build.grade you can somehow define different buildTypes, but I don't know exactly how it works.

[davidebz]

Using google I have found

https://www.digitbin.com/install-two-versions-same-app/

changing package should work but you must be sure that the second app does not share resources (i.e. directories) with the official one. This way make me not so happy.

What about search app that allow this? Or really two phones.

[davidebz]

Like this app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lbe.parallel.intl&hl=en

[davidebz]

Or something like this

https://medium.com/@prakharsrivastava_219/install-different-versions-of-same-app-on-same-device-android-e34e030aa745

Android app can have variants, variants can have associated variables so you can change even some resources name: url, file name, ecc...

[Piiit]

Thx... I will have a look at your proposals...

[Piiit]

@davidebz @noctho Done, see my last commit on development e6d0127

For the google services I am not sure thou, the Maps do no longer work... I need to investigate

[Piiit]

Maybe we should better do #44 instead of a workaround here for Google Maps... so this issue is solved for now