Now Apptimize Supports tvOS and Android TV apps!

The Need for Experimentation on tvOS and AndroidTV Apps

A majority of users use their Over-the-top content (OTT) apps in the comfort of their home. OTT apps, unlike mobile apps, often engage multiple users at the same time. (Think of the time your friends came over for the season premiere of Game of Thrones or for your Superbowl party!)

While the physical user might be the same, the use case and behavior can be drastically different depending on the device. The factors that led to success on the web or mobile apps, won’t always translate to success when implemented on OTT apps. In other words, you can’t just create an OTT app that mirrors your web or mobile app and hope for it to perform just as well.

Instead, like your mobile app, you should aim to test and refine every aspect of your OTT app. Constant testing and iteration will ensure that your app, while consistent with your brand look and feel, is uniquely positioned to perform well in the OTT ecosystem. And with OTT adoption on the rise and with OTT apps boasting higher engagement metrics than both mobile and web apps, it’s an opportunity that is too good to pass!

Full Feature Parity for OTT Apps

You can add your tvOS and Android TV app to the same account as your mobile iOS and Android apps. And what’s more, you get to leverage the same features and functionality of the Apptimize native mobile app platform for your tvOS and Android TV apps!

1) A/B Testing

Create tests to optimize conversions flows and paywalls, enhance content discovery, promote user retention, and much more. Like with the mobile offering, Apptimize for Apple TV you can create, target and launch visual or programmatic tests rapidly, and launch the winning variant to all your users.

The following example shows a dynamic variable experiment to optimize content layout with two variants.

2) Feature Release Management

Start with a small target audience and gradually roll out new features for your tvOS or Android TV app, so you can iterate swiftly based on real user feedback.  Done right, staged rollouts minimize risk and release time, leading to a market-tested feature for your Apple TV app which bears your users’ stamp of approval. You can also use our feature flags to control integrations with 3rd party ads networks among other services you may want to turn on and off.

3) Instant Updates

Need to make a quick change without the hassle of re-deploying your OTT app or involving technical developers? Just use Instant Updates to make important changes that are launched – you guessed it – instantly to your Android TV or tvOS app!

In the following example, we updated the image for the “Country” genre using the Instant Update Visual Editor in under 2 minutes. The change is instantly live for all users to see.

The Next Steps

We hope you use Apptimize’s testing and feature release management platform to drive growth for your tvOS and Android apps:

• If you are already using Apptimize for your native iOS or Android apps, you’ll need to install the tvOS SDK and Android SDK on your OTT app. (Our current Android SDK has been updated to support both native mobile apps and Android TV apps. Instead of adding to our iOS SDK, we created a separate SDK especially for tvOS apps.) Once you’ve installed the SDK, head over to your dashboard and add a new tvOS or Android app. If you need help installing the SDK send take a look at our step by step guide for tvOS and Android TV, send a message to support@apptimize.com or reach out to your dedicated customer success representative.
• If you are interested in using Apptimize to drive growth for your tvOS or Android TV app through our A/B testing and feature release management platform, request a live demo or reach out to sales@apptimize.com.