Minimizing Risks When Distributing an App
Samsung Developer
When you are about to launch a new or updated app, have you ever worried that you may need to make a last-minute change to fix an issue or adapt to a change in the market? Worry no more! A new feature, staged rollout, has been added to Seller Portal that allows you to distribute your app gradually while monitoring user responses. Now, when using staged rollout, if there is an unexpected issue with your app, you can quickly and easily pause the distribution of your app while you fix the problem. In the meantime, new customers are able to download the previous version of your app.
The staged rollout option is initially set from the Publication tab of your app and is available for Android apps only.
Launch your app to a small group of users
Using staged rollout, you can target a small group of users who can download your app, allowing you to distribute your app in a more stable and controlled manner. The rollout rate, a number from 0 to 100, sets the percentage of users who will be able to download your app. These users are randomly selected and don’t know that your app is going through a staged rollout. If there is an issue with your app, fewer users are affected by the problem. As you start to see positive results, you can gradually increase the rollout rate, increasing the number of users who can download your app.
If you set a rollout rate of 0%, your app is not published in Galaxy Store. If you set a rollout rate of 100%, your app is distributed normally (to all users who are eligible to download your app).
Launch your app in selected countries
Using staged rollout, you can choose the countries in which you distribute your app allowing you to control the availability of your app. For example, you may want to monitor how users in China react to your app before distributing it to the rest of Asia. Select Apply staged rollout rates by country to display the regions and countries in which you can distribute your app.
You can also set the rollout rate for selected countries. For countries that are not selected, the rollout rate set at the top of the Staged Rollout section is used. In the example above, unselected countries have a rollout rate of 0% (your app will not be published in Galaxy Store in those countries).
After you are satisfied with the rollout in China, you can select additional countries in Asia (and countries in other areas of the world) and then set a rollout rate for each country. If you want to roll out your app to all countries, select Apply to all countries where the app is sold and set the rollout rate. Or, if you want to distribute your app normally (to all users globally), you can disable staged rollout.
Pause staged rollout
Without staged rollout, if you find an issue with your app after distribution, you must suspend the app’s sale which removes it from Galaxy Store. When you suspend an app, new customers are not able to download the previous version of your app. Depending on how long it takes for you to fix the issue, this can adversely affect your business.
Using staged rollout, you can pause the distribution. When you pause the distribution, new customers are able to download the previous version of your app from Galaxy Store.
After pausing a staged rollout, you can resume the existing staged rollout or resume the staged rollout after updating your app.
Update staged rollout options
After submitting your app for review, you can quickly access and update the staged rollout options from the app list. Once your app is published and the staged rollout has started, you cannot decrease the rollout rate.
We want your feedback!
Take a minute to tell us what you think about staged rollout by completing this short survey. You can also share your opinions about other features in Seller Portal and how we can continue to improve our services to you.
Additional resources on the Samsung Developers site
The Samsung Developers site has many resources for developers looking to build for and integrate with Samsung devices and services. Stay in touch with the latest news by creating a free account and subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Visit the Marketing Resources page for information on promoting and distributing your apps. Finally, our Developer Forum is an excellent way to stay up-to-date on all things related to the Galaxy ecosystem.
