Update Android app in COSU device

Question

I am working of app support COSU app android. The app is working fine for me but I am not understand how user will update our app, because COSU app user can't access any other application even google play store. So now the question is that how user will update our application without google play access. I have one solutin download app from our server, but in this case user will lose save data like the data we are storing in SharedPreference. Please guide me if you have any other solution for that. Thank in advence

Answer 1

According to Google's docs on COSU (Google Play app management), it is possible to "install, update, and uninstall apps using the Play EMM API". Under "Google-hosted private app management" it describes the ability to host private apps through Play that your users can install/update:

Simplifies the Google-hosted private app publishing and update workflows available to all admins through managed Google Play, by enabling admins to update Google-hosted private apps through the EMM console instead of through the Google Play console.

Enterprise admin can upload new versions of apps that are already published privately to the enterprise using the Google Play Developer Publishing API.

If you don't want to use Play for this functionality you can read the "Self-hosted private app management" section.

You can also look at "Managed Google Play" to publish private apps for your users: https://support.google.com/googleplay/work/topic/6145152

After you register for a Google Play Developer account and set up the correct administrator privileges to upload and publish the app to managed Google Play, you can use the Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) console to distribute the app to users.

Going the EMM route will let you update apps with the same functionality as regular Google Play apps where updates don't cause users to lose data. Unfortunately Google's documentation isn't detailed or centralized for this feature. Going through Google will also require that all of your devices are signed in to Google account in order to install apps or receive updates that you deploy though the EMM console.

Another option is to use a mobile device management (MDM) solution. If you have Samsung devices you can look into Samsung Knox which has a much simpler method for distributing your app: https://www.samsungknox.com/en/article/manage-apps

Another MDM option for single use apps is Mason (https://bymason.com/). Mason lets you upload your app, select any or all of your devices, and then deploy your APK to your users. When updating your app, all you have to do is increment your app version and the update functionality will be the same as a regular Google Play update. Your users also don't have to be signed in to a Google account.

If this sounds useful to you feel free to reach out to me trevor @ bymason.com

DISCLAIMER: I work at Mason