The open source project One Platform Foundation (OPF) together with Yandex, whose developers are involved in its creation, announced the AppDF format, designed to seriously facilitate the publication of Android applications.
Problems
One of the main problems of Android is the variety of app stores. It’s hard to make money on Google Play, so it’s advisable to present your program on as many sites as possible.
The problem is as follows: there are a lot of stores, time is spent on downloading applications in each (at least 30 minutes, according to Yandex representatives). Considering that “games are a service” (they need to be updated regularly, new descriptions should be written, and so on), another tangible expense item may grow out of a simple desire to increase ROI.
Previously, there were few ways to solve the problem. Either learn to make money on Google Play, or go to Inmobi, which offers to publish it on 130 platforms for 30% of the app’s revenue.
Decision
The creation of AppDF, which Yandex announced today, is an interesting alternative to Inmobi App Publish, and at the same time potentially a solution to the problem of fragmentation of stores.
The AppDF file is a universal application assembly that contains all the necessary related information (screenshots, description, tags). After creating it, the developer will just have to upload the file to the app stores. And that’s it, the program is ready for release.
Another “but”
At first glance, this is an interesting solution, especially considering the rapid growth of the Chinese market, where there are hundreds of stores bringing in millions of dollars in total. But, as always, there is a “but”.
Firstly, such an AppDF file should be supported by the store itself. No support – no download. At the moment, OPF has only Opera Mobile Store, SlideMe, Yandex.Store and CodeNgo service in its assets. This is clearly not enough for successful sales.
Secondly, different stores have different policies regarding at least the number of characters in the description, and we are not talking about the formats and sizes of banners. It is unlikely that app stores will agree to unify all these parameters for the sake of AppDF.