Android Feature Flag
(Everything You Need To Know)

With Android mobile development teams often releasing new versions of their applications in the space of a few weeks, things can move at breakneck speed. As your team pushes forward and continues to innovate through new rollouts, it's important to have the right tools and systems in place to support these rollouts. This is where Android feature flag tools come into play.

Feature flagging tools can ensure your application is always in a releasable state while you experiment with rolling out new features. If your Android development team is eager to begin making bold bets and pushing the functionality of your application further, feature flagging creates a much-needed safety net by isolating features away from the main application.

In this brief guide, we will explore all you need to know about Android feature flags and why development teams are using these to speed up Android app deployments. As you begin to learn about how development teams are using Android feature flagging tools, you will quickly see how they can play a pivotal role in reshaping and reimagining deployment processes.

Android Feature Flags (How Do They Work?)

With the support of an Android feature flag, you can remotely control the functionality of your mobile applications. This is all possible without the need to deploy any code. You can quickly enable and disable isolated features at the click of a button. This is perfect for developers looking to deliver varied experiences for user segments.

When you have access to Android feature flagging tools, you can confidently manage feature rollouts and keep these separate from the main Android application. This is beneficial because it provides development teams with significant flexibility. If you need to quickly make changes or test new and experimental features, you can do so without rolling these out to all users.

Android Feature Flag Development (Why Does It Matter?)

If you are unsure whether your Android application is releasable, you can use feature flagging tools to keep the code separate from the live rollout on the main app. You can think of feature flagging as a way for you to test unfinished features without affecting the main application. For instance, if a new feature comes with a bug, you can isolate it away.

When you can enable and disable the features of your Android application at the click of a button, your development team will gain the confidence needed to swing for the fences and start pushing features further. A feature flagging tool for Android applications can give developers the space and freedom they need to unlock more value for users with better features.

Safe deployments are at the core of any successful rollout. Fortunately, with the right feature flagging tool in your corner, you can separately deploy code in a live environment while keeping things simple. While many assume that feature flags are only useful for applications in the pre-release testing stage, this isn't true. You can use feature flags at all stages of development.

Development teams can make changes to an Android application's functionality without causing any downtime for users. You can simply disable a feature and isolate it away from the main application while you work on making alterations. When you discover bugs in your code, you can quickly take individual features offline and start working to resolve the problems.

Feature Flag Deployment For Android Apps (Use Cases)

Once you begin to explore the potential of feature flags for Android apps, you will inevitably uncover a full range of use cases for your applications. Here are some of the most popular ways that development teams are currently using feature flags in their workflows.

A/B test user experiences

You can use feature flags to release new features to a subset of your users and monitor the results. By limiting the rollout to a specific audience and isolating access to features, you can accurately gauge user reaction and make changes on the fly. This is perfect for developers who want to run A/B tests or deliver varied experiences for user groups without any headaches.

There is nothing worse than worrying about negatively impacting the user experience after making changes. Fortunately, android feature flags are on the side of innovation. If you are pushing user interfaces further and need room to experiment, you can use feature flags to isolate and roll back individual UI components without worrying about the whole UX breaking.

Soft launch new app features

With the help of a feature flag, you can soft launch new features and applications to specific user groups. This is an excellent way to assess user reaction and demand before making any drastic changes. You can use early access campaigns to get feedback from power users of your Android app and make changes before rolling new features out to everyone.

Isolate the risk of coding bugs

Coding errors and bugs are inevitable when you are developing applications. However, by using feature flags, you can mitigate the risk of these problems by keeping them separate from your main application. If a new feature is causing crashes or performance issues, you can quickly disable it without disrupting the user experience.

Feature Flag Testing For Android (Best Tool For 2022)

When it comes to the swift creation and deployment of Android feature flags, you need access to an intuitive solution. This is where ConfigCat comes in.

If you're looking for a service to support dynamic feature toggles (and bear in mind that simple feature toggles work well too), check out ConfigCat. We'd describe it as "like LaunchDarkly but cheaper and a bit less fancy" and find that it does most of what we need. ConfigCat supports simple feature toggles, user segmentation, and A/B testing and has a generous free tier for low-volume use cases or those just starting out.

Deploy any time, release when confident.