Over the last few years, I have lead multiple apps over their release cycles every two weeks. So to help with the release planning I had to dive in and find what are all the options we have for progresssively release an app, specially keeping in mind how to recover on incidents with minimal impact.
Google is constantly fiddling with their Play Store policies, approval process and limitations; details below were valid at the time of publishing in December 2024.
Next time we will cover how Apple App Store helps with progressive roll out.
Google Play provides several types of tracks where you are release the app and each of them come with their own limitations and requirements. Let’s dive into the details.
Production
The production track is for general availability release based on the country and device restrictions that you have provided to Play Store. The first version of this release has to be launched at 100%, however, the following releases can start roll out at as low as 0.1% or as high as 99.9%. For as long as it is less than 100%, the app is considered to be not fully released and can be halted as needed.
This roll out percentage is valid for existing and new users. So if the app is on 50% roll out, then 50% of the existing users will find the new update, and also only 50% of new installs will be the new version; all others will see the older version of the app. All releases on this track requires a Google review; and anecdotally it seems to more more thorough than other tracks.
One common trick is to keep the last release at 99.9% so that there is always an option to halt the release until the new one is ready. However, if you do, you must remember to go to 100% before the next release is submitted for review. When a new version is submitted, any version not at 100% is halted automatically.
Also for bookkeeping, it is recommended to add the reason for halting/pausing.
Open Beta
For open beta, Play Store allows unlimited number of users, or a limited number of users with a minimum of 1K users. The users have to explicitly join, and there is no way for the developer to remove particular users from the track.
Release on this track requires a Google review, and can roll out from 0.1% to 100% independently. The track can be paused as needed, but resuming the track also requires a Google review, similarly reducing and increasing the limited number of beta users also requires a Google review. If there is a higher release version in production it will override the version provided in beta.
Releases from this track can be promoted to Production or any Closed Beta tracks; promotions require a Google Review.
Closed Beta
For closed beta, Play Store actually allows multiple tracks that can be created as needed. Each track can include a max of 50 email lists, wth each having 2K users max. So the theoretical maximum user in a track is 100K users, however, each developer account can only have a max of 200 email lists. Alternatively, multiple Google Groups can be invited instead of maintaining the email list on Play Console. Only users in the assigned email list or Google group can accept the invite or opt in.
Similar to other release tracks, releases require a Google review and can roll out from 0.1% to 100% independently. The track can be paused anytime, but resuming the track requires a Google review. If there is a higher release version in production it will override the version provided in beta.
Releases from this track can be promoted to Production, Open Beta or any other Closed Beta tracks; promotions require a Google Review.
Internal Beta
The internal track is special because it does not require any Google review, however, it is only limited to 100 users max but they can be distributed in multiple eamil lists. Only users in the assigned email list can accept the invite or opt in.
Since the releases don’t need a Google review, they are available almost immediately, and can be paused and resumed as needed. If there is a higher release version in production it will override the version provided in beta.
Releases from this track can be promoted to Production, Open Beta or any Closed Beta tracks; promotions require a Google Review.
In summary:
- the highest version available to an user form any track is the version that will be available to the user
- all tracks allows a roll out from 0.1% to 100% after the initial release
- production track can change roll out percentage, pause or resume without any additional review
- beta tracks can pause immediately but resuming the track requires a Google review
- All new releases in any track (except for Internal Beta track) require a Google review before they can be released
One final note: the app roll out takes a few days to be actually available to all users as Play Store propagates the release on their servers based on their load; no publicly advertised SLA is shared nor any control on this is provided. Anecdotal observation shows something between 3 to 5 days based on user complaints.
