Introduction

After the initial submission of an application, it is common for developers to continue making changes to it by fixing bugs or adding or improving features and content. Each time this happens, the updated build will need to be submitted to the Google Play Console.

Fortunately this is a quicker process than submitting an application for the first time, and in this reading you’ll find out exactly what you need to do.

Update procedure

Updating your application on the Google Play Console is similar to the process you learned about in the previous reading regarding the initial submission of your application via the Google Play Console.

As before, you will need to make sure your application builds successfully, has no errors, and has been tested on real devices.

All the other steps will be the same, meaning a new build will have to be submitted and uploaded to the Google Play Console by running the command eas submit –platform android from your terminal.

The good news is that all the previous information will be saved and transferred when you create a new build of your application. As such, information like your application name, description, category, and screenshots, will be saved and ready for use in your new version of the application.

Of course, if you think that some of the information needs to be updated to suit the new capabilities of your application, definitely do so.

What should you update?

Usually, the application name and general description should stay the same during the life of your application, but screenshots and other information could change from version to version.

The most important information will be to cover what’s new in the new version of your application. In this text field, you are supposed to write all the most important changes and improvements you did for this version of your application, and also try to write about exact bug fixes you managed to remove from the past version of the application.

To get inspired about what and how to write these messages for your users try looking for similar messages that Google provided when they publish a new version of Android system for your phone or tablet or any other Google device you may own. These will provide helpful examples on how to write proper and precise message for your users in order to cover the most important changes for your new application version.  Just keep in mind the few important things mentioned so your users are well aware of the changes and improvements made.

Also, it is very important to track how your application is doing on the Google Play Store and what are the comments and ratings for your application. This is one of the best options to check if there are any potential issues with the application since many users will take some time to write a comment about what they would like to see improved. This is just one option to monitor how your application is doing but definitely have that in mind.

Conclusion

In this reading you explored the steps required to update your Expo applications in the Google Play Console portal and how to submit new builds.