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Until now I was restricting my app to only run on tablets by having something like this in the manifest file:

<supports-screens
    android:largeScreens="true"
    android:normalScreens="false"
    android:requiresSmallestWidthDp="600"
    android:smallScreens="false"
    android:xlargeScreens="true" />

I am preparing to launch on Amazon Fire for the first time and because of the following restriction: "requiresSmallestWidthDp="600", many users will be affected as the app cannot be installed on this device. I am getting the following error message: "android:requiresSmallestWidthDp = '600'; device requires '527'".

As the Fire 2015 is the most popular tablet, I would really like to allow the app to be installed on it, but at the same time I don't want my app to be installed on phones. Any suggestion on how to achieving this?

Daniel
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Lalilalu
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  • Does the Amazon AppStore for Android pay attention to `requiresSmallestWidthDp`? The Play Store does not ([according to the docs](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/supports-screens-element.html#requiresSmallest) and AFAIK). Beyond that, what is the **precise technical reason** for "I don't want my app to be installed on phones"? Is it that your app requires telephony features? Is it purely an issue of screen size? Because neither of those have anything to do with "phones" versus "tablets", which are marketing terms, not technical ones. – CommonsWare Nov 14 '16 at 11:51
  • Related to this attribute android:requiresSmallestWidthDp" - according to the google doc it is used to enable filtering for your application on services such as Google Play for android >3.2 .. so the app is not discoverable on Google Play. The reason of why not having it on phones is due to the way it was designed to only be used on tablets (a phone version might kick in later on but at this moment it cannot be available). – Lalilalu Nov 14 '16 at 12:00
  • The 3.2 reference is for when that attribute was added. AFAIK, the Play Store still ignores it. "The reason of why not having it on phones is due to the way it was designed to only be used on tablets" -- again, "phones" and "tablets" are marketing terms. There are phones (6.5" "phablet") with bigger screens than tablets (Amazon Kindle Fire 6"). What is the **precise technical reason** for your "not having it on phones" requirement? – CommonsWare Nov 14 '16 at 12:16

1 Answers1

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There is no clear technical distinction between a tablet and a phone, so if you really need to filter out non-tablets, you need to resort to other filters. If it's about your app's UI, the support-screens and compatible-screens are your best bets. Just remember that some phones have a higher screen resolution than some tablets.

kor
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