1073158 - [Intex Cloud Fx]Marketplace search does not show new apps

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Marketplace Graveyard :: Search, defect)

Description

[guigs [:guigs] PST (please needinfo me!)]

Problem description: When searching on Marketplace app,some apps do not show up, like Connect2A and Zomato. However if you go to the website in the browser the apps download fine. 

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1021623


Expected: Zomato and ConnectA2 to be searchible in the app

Actual: 
Zomato and ConnectA2 are downloadable via site, not marketplace.

Comment 1

[David Durst [:ddurst]]

Rachel --

There's a few things going on here, so bear with me:

1. The app: as the screenshots indicate, the app being used is the Tarako marketplace. This is a specific package of the marketplace that was shipped on Tarako devices. It shows a subset of the total apps in the marketplace: specifically, apps that have been approved in general and verified as performant on Tarako devices (which have the potential for bandwidth constraints and definitely have substantially lower RAM than other devices/regions).

So, the end user of that marketplace app will only see apps that have been verified as good on Tarako. Which leads me to the second issue...

2. While our review team has processed our catalog prior to Tarako's launch, newly-submitted apps must be similarly approved and tested. To avoid requiring them to test absolutely everything, we ask that developers request a review of their app for low-memory devices if they are indicating that they should be used in areas known to have those FxOS devices (like Tarako, in India). This is done during the app submission process (listed at the end of submission under Next Steps, more info here: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Marketplace/Tarako/TarakoSubmission#Implementation). This is the important part: only when a developer requests that low-memory review is their app tested for Tarako performance, and only if it passes will it be shown in the Tarako marketplace.

However, if a user goes to the marketplace online, we do not assume that they are on a Tarako device just because the region they're accessing it from is India. So it's entirely possible a Tarako user would see one set of apps in the marketplace shipped on the phone (the Tarako marketplace, showing only the most curated apps for that device) and a different, larger set of apps (a superset) in the marketplace online.

So, it is possible for there to be a delay between submission and appearance for new apps (especially on Tarako), but in this case it appears the disconnect is not that the app is new, but that a review was not requested. Specifically:

* In the case of Zomato, the developer has not requested a review for low-memory devices, and therefore it does not appear on the Tarako marketplace. Even though it may run well on Tarako, it will not appear until the developer requests the review and it is approved on Tarako.

* In the case of ConnectA2, it has been approved for Tarako and therefore does appear on the Tarako marketplace (according to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1021623#answer-632411).

Both apps, as expected, appear on the online marketplace.

Let me know if you need more information.