How Google Analytics helps you make better decisions for your apps

Posted by Russell Ketchum, Lead Product Manager, Google Analytics for Mobile Apps

Knowing how your customers use your app is the foundation to keeping them happy and engaged. It’s important to track downloads and user ratings, but the key to building a successful business is using data to dive deeper into understanding the full acquisition funnel and what makes users stick around.

Google Analytics is the easiest way to understand more about what your users are doing inside your app on Google Play, while also simultaneously tracking your users across the web and other mobile platforms. To show how Google Analytics can help, we've created a new "Analyze" section on the Android Developers website for you to check out. We provide guidance on how to design a measurement plan and implement effective in-app analytics – and take advantage of features only available between Google Play and Google Analytics.

The Google Play Referral Flow in Analytics

Google Analytics for mobile apps provides a comprehensive view into your app’s full user lifecycle, including user acquisition, composition, in app behavior, and key conversions. Our Analytics Academy course on mobile app analytics is also a great resource to learn the fundamentals.

Eltsoft LLC, a foreign language learning and education app developer for Android, recognized early on how impactful Google Analytics would have on the company's ability to quickly improve on its apps and meet user needs.

Analytics has really helped us to track the effectiveness of the changes to our app. I would say six months ago, that our success was a mystery. The data said we were doing well, but the whys were not clear. Therefore, we couldn’t replicate or push forward. But today, we understand what’s happening and can project our future success. We have not only the data, but can control certain variables allowing us to understand that data. - Jason Byrne, Eltsoft LLC

Here are some powerful tips to make the most of Google Analytics:

1. Understand the full acquisition funnelUniquely integrated with the Google Play Developer Console, Google Analytics gives you a comprehensive view of the Google Play Referral Flow. By linking Analytics to the Developer Console, you can track useful data on how users move through the acquisition flow from your marketing efforts to the Google Play store listing to the action of launching the app. If you find that a significant number of users browse your app in Google Play, but don’t install it, for example, you can then focus your efforts on improving your store listing.


2. Unlock powerful insights on in-app purchasesMonitoring in-app purchases in the Google Play Developer Console will show you the total revenue your app is generating, but it does not give you the full picture about your paying users. By instrumenting your app with the Google Analytics ecommerce tracking, you’ll get a fuller understanding of what paying users do inside your app. For example, you can find out which acquisition channels deliver users who stay engaged and go on to become the highest value users.


3. Identify roadblocks and common paths with the Behavior FlowUnderstanding how users move through your app is best done with in-app analytics. With Google Analytics, you can easily spot if a significant percentage of users leave your app during a specific section. For example, if you see significant drop off on a certain level of your game, you may want to make that level easier, so that more users complete the level and progress through the game. Similarly, if you find users who complete a tutorial stay engaged with your app, you might put the tutorial front and center for first-time users.


4. Segment your audience to find valuable insightsAggregated data can help you answer questions about overall trends in your app. If you want to unlock deeper insights about what drives your users’ behavior, you can slice and dice your data using segmentation, such as demographics, behavior, or install date. If something changes in one of your key metrics, segmentation can help you get to the root of the issue -- for example, was a recent app update unpopular with users from one geographic area, or were users with a certain device or carrier affected by a bug?


5. Use custom data to measure what matters for your businessSimply activating the Google Analytics library gives you many out-of-the-box metrics without additional work, such as daily and monthly active users, session duration, breakdowns by country, and many more variables. However, it’s likely that your app has many user actions or data types that are unique to it, which are critical to building an engaged user base. Google Analytics provides events, custom dimensions, and custom metrics so you can craft a measurement strategy that fits your app and business.


6. No more one-size-fits-all ad strategyIf you’re a developer using AdMob to monetize your app, you can now see all of your Analytics data in the AdMob dashboard. Running a successful app business is all about reaching the right user with the right ad or product at the right time. If you create specific user segments in Google Analytics, you can target each segment with different ad products. For example, try targeting past purchasers with in-app purchase ads, while monetizing users who don’t purchase through targeted advertising.

By measuring your app performance on a granular level, you will be able to make better decisions for your business. Successful developers build their measurement plan at the same time as building their app in order to set goals and track progress against key success metrics, but it’s never too late to start.

Choose the implementation that works best for your app to get started with Google Analytics today and find out more about what you can do in the new “Analyze” section of developers.android.com.

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Chromebook Remote app released to control your Chrome OS device from afar

Google has introduced a new app which lets you control and access your Chromebook or Chromebox remotely from several other different platforms. While the Chrome Remote Desktop app allows you to remotely access another computer through your Chrome browser or Chromebook, the Google Chromebook Remote app gives you just the opposite - access to your Chromebook from a different computer. Although there might be some lag, these two pieces of software effectively connect every desktop computer you might have in your home and in any remote location.

Chromebooks limited space for traditional software functionality might be expanding just a tad bit. The remote app allows you to tap into your Chromebook or Chromebox using any Mac, Windows, or Linux computer that has Chrome installed - granting full access to files and apps.

This Chromebook Remote app is available exclusively to Chrome OS users that also work with the Chrome OS Developer channel. While Google’s Francois Beaufort confirms the existence of the Chromebook Remote app's functionality, no official statement has been issued regarding the app's advancement to Beta or Stable channels of Chrome OS. Note that once installed, the app doesn’t need to be switched on or off like other remote software to gain access.

Asking yourself why this app is even necessary is a good question. Having limited opportunity on a Chromebook is tough. Chromebook is growing with consumers interested in a cheaper alternative with limited functions, and Google has noticed the increase. With already a few comments in the Google store, some suggest specific improvements like multi window display or mouse clicking. We can only wait to see what improvements are to come.

VIA: Google

Story Timeline

• Google Chrome to block extensions from outside the Web Store


• Roku Streaming Stick takes on Google Chromecast


• Google Chrome hack allows Android apps to run on any desktop


• Google Chromecast coming soon to Mexico (finally!)

Android Lollipop roll out for HTC devices leaked

A few days ago, we told you about the video leak from a Vietnam website about how Android Lollipop would look like in the HTC One (M8). A day later, the OEM received the go signal from Google to start rolling out the major update to the devices, including the unlocked ones, after the Google Play Edition received theirs last month. But now the question for owners of other HTC devices is when their smartphones and tablets will be Lollipop-ized.

A supposed leaked document now details the schedule of when the other HTC decvices will be upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop. If the document is to be believed, the next to receive the update will be the previous flagship One (M7) and it will be the last one to roll out at least for this month. For February, it will be the turn of the One (E8), Desire EYE, One (M8) Eye, and the Butterfly 2. March and April have a lot more devices to follow suit.

HTC will reportedly try to finish the Lollipop roll-out by April and then afterwards, it will start issuing a major firmware update to their Sense UI, alongside the next flagship device. Rumors are saying that this will happen sometime May, and that the new Sense will also come to the past high-end HTC phones.

HTC has not issued an official statement as to the actual rollout, but even if this document is true, our past experiences tells us that we shouldn't hold them to this schedule. More often than not, there are a lot of delays for various reasons. So we'll just believe it when Lollipop actually comes to our devices.

VIA: HTCViet

Story Timeline

• Video leak shows how Android 5.0.1 will look on HTC One (M8)


• Android 5.0 for HTC One (M8) starts rolling out via OTA

Project Ara: how the puzzle pieces fit

Project Ara is a platform still in development - not yet ready for the consumer market. There are still parts of the phone that are works in progress and/or require more research before final market readiness. Security is one issue that remains in the Ara project for now - battery life is another. One thing - actually, several parts - that are actually confirmed and working are all in physical hardware - the Endo base of the phone and Module pieces. How do you interchange them? How are these Modules mounted on the base?

The most important feature in Project Ara is interchangeability. Each individual piece, or module, is held to the Endo (base of the device) via magnets. Since it's especially important that no module falls off of a Project Ara device, Google isn't using regular magnets. They’re approaching it with a technology known as electro-permanent magnets.

Electro-permanent magnet technology allows Google to selectively switch on or off each magnet's grip with a short surge of power. Once the switch is on, the magnetic pad latches one part to the other, but doesn’t require a constant power surge.

Simplified, the modules stay in place when you need them to, and become easily removable when you want or need to switch them out. All without placing too much strain and demand on the battery.

See more in our full hands-on with Project Ara right now!

Story Timeline

• Project Ara releases new MDK ahead of second developers conference


• Project Ara on sale first in Puerto Rico as test market


• Google's Project Ara hands-on: modular plug-and-play smartphone action


• Project Ara configurator app makes it easy to design your own phone

Poseidon Portable Charger will fit in with your rugged lifestyle

If you're a mountaineer, an outdoor enthusiast, an athlete or just someone that has to go through a lot of rugged terrain in the course of your work, chances are, you probably have yourself a smartphone or device that can weather all those difficult environments. But what about your other accessories, shouldn't they be all-terrain too? That's the thinking behind a new Kickstarter project, the Poseidon Portable Charger, which claims to be the" first military-grade and waterproof mobile battery."

Built to give extra power to your smartphone, tablet, or action camera, the portable charger has the maximum rating of IP68, which means it is both waterproof and dustproof. More than that, it even has the military-grade standard of MIL-STD 810G which also gives it a shockproof ability. So it is actually the perfect companion for adventure seekers and outdoorsy people who can't part from their gadgets but will be out of wall socket range for a few hours or days.

When it comes to charging power, it has a dual-USB output system so you can charge two gadgets at the same time with its 8000mAh of power. It can give an average smartphone 3-5 times full capacity charge, a high-powered tablet 1-2x, and an action camera like a GoPro, around 5-7x of charging. It's also pretty small and handy, weighing just 8.43 ounces, and having a size of 5.74 x 3.19 x 5.1 inches, which will just fit into your back pocket.

The Kickstarter project has already reached its goal of $50,000 in pledges and it still has 43 days to go. All you have to do is shell out around $79 to be one of the first to get the Poseidon Portable Charger. The estimated delivery date for the mobile battery is by July this year.

SOURCE: Kickstarter

Google Glass under new management: Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest

Google Glass is flying to a new nest - that nest being Tony Fadell, co-founder and CEO of Google-owned smart thermostat group Nest. Google Glass jumped out of the experimental Google X division Thursday and on to Fadell’s list of responsibilities. Almost exactly a year ago, Google bought out Nest for $3.2 billion. Maybe Fadell can use his management skills to boost something new and make a comeback with Glass.

Google Glass is led by current manager Ivy Ross - who will now report to Tony Fadell. Fadell won’t be ending his ties with Nest, and won’t be merging Glass either. Both establishments will remain separate under the control of Fadell.

At this time there's no word on what the next generation of Glass will look like. The Glass At Work program is continuing - meanwhile there's no given timescale on new products, so says Google. Production for current Glass will end within weeks. The focus now will be “future versions of Glass”.

Fadell has taken on some big roles prior to Google Glass. Before Nest, he was in charge of Apple’s iPod and iPhone projects. Watching Tony take on Glass will be an interesting sight as reports suggest the product has lost momentum.

SOURCE: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Developers starting to doubt Google Glass future


• The next Google Glass model will be powered by Intel


• New patent filing shows a slimmed-down Google Glass


• Google Glass app brings augmented reality to Tesco grocery stores

Adobe Lightroom now available for Android devices

Mobile photo editors are a dime a plenty, but if it comes from a developer that has made its brand name as a verb meaning you've retouched your photos, then you might want to pay attention to it. Adobe Lightroom is now available for Android, bringing their popular photo editor and its powerful tools to your smartphone. While it is of course a little lesser than its desktop app, it still is a pretty handy tool for mobile photographers as you edit on the go.

With Adobe Lightroom mobile, you will be able to edit photos from your smartphone and even those images from your DSLR camera that are synced to your Adobe Creative Cloud. It has the usual editing tools you've come to expect from Adobe, including exposure, highlights, shadows, composure, etc. And if you're a little too lazy to manually edit the photos, there are also preset settings or filters which you can apply to your photos.

If the changes you make to the photo are "nondestructive", you can sync it back to its RAW file. You can also use Lightroom to organize your photos by importing those stored in your gallery, and then flagging or removing photos that you don't want to keep. And of course, you can easily share the photos on your favorite social networks. All the edits, metadata and collection info from Adobe Photoshop Lighroom 5 will be synced to all your devices that have Lightroom Mobile.

To be able to use this app, you need to be a subscriber to Adobe Creative Cloud or its various plans. You can use Lightroom mobile for free for 30 days, but after that, you would need to sign up for membership. The Photoshop and Lightroom package costs around $9.99 per month. You can download Adobe Lightroom mobile from the Google Play Store.