Play in-app updates

This is an optional extra for Android. Without it, Update opens the store page, and that works fine. With it, Google Play shows its own update screen over your app, so the user is not sent to the Play Store app.

It is a small Android module in this package. It uses Google's own Play Core library.

What the user sees

These screens belong to Google, not to your app.

• Flexible. Play shows its own consent dialog over your app. After the user agrees, the update downloads in the background and the app keeps running. Installing it restarts the app.
• Immediate. Play shows its own full-screen update screen on top of your app, then restarts the app. The user is not sent to the Play Store app, but they do leave your app's own screens for Google's.
• When it does not start. Play only starts an update when it offers one to that user. It does not for a build you installed yourself, a staged rollout the user is not in yet, or a release Play has not noticed yet. Then the prompt opens the store link, which does take the user out of your app.

This behaviour comes from Google Play Core. It has not been tested end to end here, because Play only answers for apps installed from Play.

What you need

• The expo package. This was built and tested on Expo SDK 58.
• A development build. Expo Go does not include the module.
• An app installed from Google Play. See the warning below.

With the prompt

Add nativeUpdate:

import { UpdatePrompt } from '@axonpack/in-app-updates';
import { Text, View } from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Text>My app</Text>
      <UpdatePrompt nativeUpdate />
    </View>
  );
}

Update now starts the Play flow: immediate for a forced update, flexible for a soft one.

The app checks for a left or finished update when it starts and every time it returns to the foreground.

Without the prompt

import {
  INSTALL_STATUS_DOWNLOADED,
  completeNativeUpdate,
  getNativeUpdateState,
  startNativeUpdate,
} from '@axonpack/in-app-updates';

// Call this when the app starts and each time it comes back to the foreground.
export async function updateInTheBackground() {
  const state = await getNativeUpdateState();
  if (state === 'in-progress') return startNativeUpdate('immediate'); // resume the one the user left
  if (state === 'downloaded') return completeNativeUpdate(); // install the finished download

  const outcome = await startNativeUpdate('flexible', (status) => {
    if (status.status === INSTALL_STATUS_DOWNLOADED) completeNativeUpdate();
  });
  return outcome; // 'accepted', 'declined', 'failed' or 'unavailable'
}

A second call while one is running returns the first call's result, so a double tap starts only one update. The status listener is removed when the update installs, fails or is canceled.

getNativeUpdateInfo() tells you what Play knows before you start anything:

isNativeUpdateSupported() is false on iOS, in Expo Go, and in any build without the module.

The module asks the user for no permission.

Next: Testing