Boosting Wear OS Adoption: FotMob’s Innovative Cross-Device Discovery
FotMob, a leading platform for football enthusiasts, recently achieved a remarkable milestone in Wear OS adoption, experiencing its largest single-day increase in five years. This surge, which was 2-3 times higher than the average daily installs, can be attributed to a seamless cross-device installation flow that guides users to discover the Wear OS app directly from their smartphones.
The FotMob app is widely recognized for delivering real-time scores, in-depth statistical analysis, and the latest news in the football world. With the Wear OS version, users can stay updated on scores and match events straight from their wrists, enhancing the overall user experience.
The Need for Cross-Device Discovery
Many FotMob users enjoy following live matches, often without actively using their phones. As Roy Solberg, Android Tech Lead at FotMob, explains, “Wear OS provides fans with a quick glance at scores and match updates, making it a natural extension of the FotMob experience.” However, despite a significant number of users owning Wear OS devices, FotMob recognized that many were unaware of the app’s existence.
This realization prompted the FotMob team to explore technical solutions that would educate users about the Wear OS app and facilitate its installation directly from the main phone app.
Leveraging Android’s Wearable Library
Fortunately, the Wearable library on Android and Wear OS offered the necessary tools for FotMob to create an in-app experience that would simplify the installation process for users. By utilizing the NodeClient, the team could identify connected Wear OS devices that were potential candidates for the app.
Additionally, they implemented a capability within the Wear OS app, defined in an XML resource, to indicate whether FotMob was already installed on a connected device. This allowed the phone app to display only those Wear OS devices that lacked the FotMob app.
Designing an Educational Prompt
To guide users through the installation process, the FotMob team crafted a half-page educational prompt within the phone app. This prompt effectively informed users about the opportunity to install the Wear OS app, offering them the option to initiate the installation or dismiss the prompt. It featured a prominent screenshot showcasing the Wear OS experience, allowing users to visualize how the app would appear on their watches.
To kick off the installation, the app utilized the RemoteActivityHelper API to launch the Play Store directly on the user’s watch. According to Roy, “The Wearable APIs made the implementation straightforward. Detecting connected devices and querying capabilities allowed us to quickly determine if the watch app was installed. The key was designing a helpful rather than intrusive prompt for users.”
Results and Future Directions
The introduction of the cross-device installation feature led to FotMob’s largest single-day increase in Wear OS installs in five years, with over 1,500 new installs recorded within just 48 hours of the rollout reaching full capacity. Roy noted, “Within the first 10 days, we observed a significant rise in new Wear OS installs. This confirmed that many users with compatible devices were simply unaware of the app’s existence.”
In addition to FotMob’s successful implementation, Google has launched a new library aimed at simplifying cross-device installation journeys through the In-App Install Prompts library. This library offers developers options for integrating installation prompts at appropriate points within their apps, making it easier to encourage users to install companion apps.
For developers interested in enhancing cross-device functionality within their applications, exploring the DataLayer sample and the new In-App Install Prompts library can provide valuable insights and tools.
Source for the original facts: Original source.
