By Phil Baker
For the past several months, our developers at Neil Young Archives (NYA) have been working on major revisions to our iOS and Android apps, including a much-improved interface and an entirely new feature, Neil Young Radio.
We know how frustrating it can be for Android users to wait weeks or months for an app that’s already available on the iPhone. Often, that’s because developers prioritize iOS, developing the two versions sequentially rather than in parallel. With so many Android users among our worldwide members, we were determined to avoid that by developing both versions simultaneously, with the goal of releasing them on the same day.
Unfortunately, Google had other plans. It’s now been almost two weeks since our new iOS app became available, while our Android app is still awaiting approval. Both were submitted to Apple and Google on the same day. Apple reviewed and approved our app in less than 24 hours; we’re still waiting for Google.
And we’re hardly alone. Other Android developers are reporting that approvals that once took hours or a few days are now stretching into weeks, often with little explanation.
In September, Daniel Gultsch, developer of the established Android messaging app Conversations, complained that an update to his 12-year-old application had been sitting in Google’s review process for more than a week. Other developers responding on Hacker News described similar experiences, some reporting waits of two weeks or longer.
Earlier this month, one developer reported that an update adding Android Auto functionality remained under review for 21 days before finally receiving approval. Attempts to get help from Google support produced little useful information. Meanwhile, the corresponding Apple application had already been approved.
Android Auto appears to be a particular bottleneck because Google requires an additional review of applications designed to operate in vehicles. That makes sense from a safety standpoint, but it hardly explains why approvals should take weeks or why we developers receive so little information about the delays. We have repeatedly submitted requests for expediting our application with little results. We asked again two days ago and they acknowledged our request, but nothing yet as of today, October 28.
Google controls access to an enormous worldwide audience of Android users. With that control comes a responsibility to provide developers with a timely, predictable, and transparent approval process. Instead, developers are left waiting and customers are left frustrated.
If Google wants developers to continue investing in innovative Android applications, it needs to stop being the obstacle standing between developers and their customers.