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android-tvleanbackamazon-fire-tv

How difficult will it be to make Android TV app compatible/available on Amazon Fire TV app store?


I'm a newbie to Android. I have developed an Android TV app. Can I run this non-streaming app on Amazon Fire TV? I have read that "Fire App Builder" is used to build a streaming media Android apps for Amazon Fire TV. But my app just contains 3 to 4 screens in which few webservices are called and the data is displayed on a Gridview. Can I use FireAppBuilder (without having any streaming media content in app) to build app for Amazon fire TV?


Solution

  • It looks like this question has more generally been answered by this SO post and this one. Basically you should be able to use the exact APK except for a few changes.

    1. LEANBACK_LAUNCHER intent filter doesn't work and you'll need to use LAUNCHER. Also "you won't be able to see your application in the home screen before the app is actually published in the Amazon Store."

    2. If your app plays media (which you said yours doesn't), it needs to take the audio focus and register a media button receiver.

    3. The voice handling of the leanback SearchFragment doesn't work and global search also isn't supported.

    All of that being said, we didn't modify our APK at all when we gave it to Amazon for approval and they said everything worked great...so it's totally possible you won't have to make any changes.

    Final note: "Also try to follow pre-submission assessment guidelines and developer FAQs when developing for a firetv."