Now that the Nexus 7 has been deemed a success, Android app developers are taking a new look at porting over their smartphone applications for the tablet market. To help make sure things look right on the Nexus 7’s sexy screen, Google has released a tablet app quality checklist for app developers.
Most items on the checklist, unsurprisingly, deal with arranging things for a larger screen, such as adjusting font sizes & touch targets, and optimizing the layout by taking advantage of the extra screen real estate. It also encourages developers to adjust the sizes of widgets and icon assets to fit larger resolutions. The eighth item on the checklist stands out a bit, as Google issues a warning to developers not to require hardware features (such as cameras, NFC, or a data connection) that tablets may not have.
Aside from the size and hardware considerations, Google bookends its list with reminders to test the core app and follow best practices for publishing the app in Google Play.
Below is the full checklist, but the list can be perused with Google’s more detailed outline at the Android developer site.
- Test for core app quality
- Optimize your layouts for larger screens
- Take advantage of extra screen area available on tablets
- Use icons and other assets that are designed for tablet screens
- Adjust font sizes and tou h targets for tablet screens
- Adjust sizes of home screen widgets for tablet screens
- Offer the app’s full feature set to tablet users
- Don’t require hardware features that might not be available on tablets
- Declare support for tablet screen configurations
- Follow best practices for publishing in Google Play
(via TechCrunch)