Google has officially launched Playbook for Developers, an all-around guide and news app for Android developers to stay up to date on the largest mobile operating system in the world.
Playbook for Developers is, as the name suggests, entirely for developers interested in improving their app or service on Android and Google Play. You’ll find various articles and YouTube videos from Android developer, design, and advertising blogs, and Google has a reading progress bar that fills up the more you read. Based on a first look, it seems as though most, if not all content comes from Google.
When you first install the app, you’ll be able to personalize your content based on categories that apply to your business. These interests range from Design, Development, and Analytics to Games, Monetization, and more. You can even set the language for the app, and the country you’re in. Swipe left on stories to mark them as read, or share, save, or dismiss them. Unfortunately, you can’t play videos in the app as it opens the native YouTube app. But articles open in Chrome Custom Tabs for quicker loading.
An Explore tab lets you dive into specific subjects of building and growing your business — start at Develop, move to Launch, and a few steps later, read up on how to Earn. Most of these articles are written directly in the app, so you don’t need a data connection to view them. You can save articles to read later, and you can even opt for notifications from the app to keep you in the loop about new content.
The Android app has been in beta for the past six weeks but the final version is officially up for anyone to download on the Google Play Store. You’ll need to be on a device on Android 5.0 and above.
