Beta·Maniac - For the Impatient one!

I got Whatsapp's new dark mode at least 2 weeks before the official release, The popular email app (calling itself the 'Inbox by Gmail' alternative), Spark Email app introduced more dense mails and folder management which again I got 3 weeks before the official release, Even got Uber's new horizontal interface pretty much before it was officially announced and so on...

The list can go on, but here is the point I am trying to put - I am Impatient, if something new (features / overhaul, etc) is announced considering the apps or even the software, I want to try it as fast as possible. So much impatient that I even opted for the beta testing versions for my Oneplus 3T's then upcoming software updates to OxygenOS 4-5 months before the official releases. I am not alone, there are a whole lot of people who have this FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) for apps / softwares.

Beta Testing - How it works?

So in Android, you open Google Play, search for any app and open it, scroll down a bit and if available, you would have a dialog there to opt in for Beta versions of the app.

Phew...so much work!

On iOS, its a quite tedious process - Download this app called TestFlight by Apple, then may be conduct some google search if any app has any beta testing going on with it. If yes, then they would have a dedicated TestFlight link to join in and get oneself invited to receive early updates!

Just for the sake of it I searched for beta testing links for Facebook and Snapchat and yes its a task!

clikcing that Snapchat link which I embedded, opens the app in TestFlight (Left), once downloaded it appears in the TestFlight app (Right)

Basically, the thing is developers look for testers who can voluntarily opt themselves in to test new features / functionalities before they launch the same to wider public.

The developers get their testers while the user gets a privileged access to early updates - Win-win!

Coming to βeta Maniac...(ANDROID ONLY)

So what's the problem with the whole process above?

1. Opening each app on Google Play and then opting-in.
2. No tracking as to which apps have now started offering beta testing.
3. Some developers conduct testing only within limited users, so you may lose out if the beta programme is full.

Gosh! Missed it!

This is exactly where βeta Maniac comes into play.

Open the app, sign-in with Google, and it'll scan all your installed apps and automatically display which apps have beta testing programmes open, which one, one has opted for, and even display the closed (limited users) progranmes!
Also, apart from this filtering I really liked the color coded dots towards the right as differentiators in sync with those filters!

This one I really like - This app will even notify you when app is open for beta testing (even the limited testing groups)

and what's more, you can opt into and leave the beta programmes right from the app itself!

Feeling even more lazy? There are options in the App settings to schedule auto-scans at various frequencies. Also, an option to exclude desired apps from being scanned!

A Q&A round with the Developer!

So, Mirko Dimartino is the developer of the app, having quite a good background in making apps and ROMs (I don't think I should get into further technicals), has worked on (now deprecated) projects such as Got It and CPU Spy Reborn which were quite popular indeed in their times.

Though its been only a little time the app has landed on Google Play, Mirko had developed this app around 2.5 yrs ago for himself and also is my first question to him...

Q. What exactly motivated you to build this app?

A. "Obviously the need. I checked out Google Play and I could only find apps that couldn't fit my need so I had fun doing it myself (it was a pretty simple idea, and I was like "wow, anyone thought about that!")"

Q. This app is so very good! Why your app is not paid?

A. "Beta Maniac is one of the very few apps among Google Play that is potentially completely free. It has ads and recently I added even donations. The reason why I published this my "old" app is to increase my fanbase and hopefully get a bridge to connect more people with my main app: Transcriber."

Q. Any other apps you are working on currently? - I'm aware of Transcriber, any app other than that?

A. "I had a collaboration with a friend about the UI of two of his apps: one is an Android app called WeeNet and one is a Windows Desktop app, a companion app for a famous Android app called WPA WPS Tester."

Q. I have a feature request...to auto-opt in for beta programmes when they become available (apart from availability notifications) and notifying me that an auto-opt in took place. Possible?

A. "I would love to make this feature too, but there is not a Google Play public API for that, and could be a nice premium feature. I would like to keep only the notification service as background feature and let the people take action actively about which beta to join or not."

One last thing, Mirko can be reached out on Instagram, Dribbler and XDA and his projects on Google Play are available here and the collab one, here!

Design - I cannot end without this!

Seriously, Mirko has done a great job with the design. Yes, it is Material Design (an implementation which I wish more apps had. Even Google has done it with only one of its apps - Tasks).

Its clean, its fast, its subtle, its minimal and yet gets things done perfectly + a bonus - it has a dark mode!

So clean and satisfying!

I really have no complaints from this app, it has indeed hit the bullseye and perfectly delivered on what I, or perhaps people like me, always wanted when opting for beta testing!

You can download the Beta Maniac for free here.

Psst...! There is a nice little easter egg (some hidden fun!) in the app, happy searching!- lemme know in the comments section when you find it and also your thoughts on the app!

Stay Aware, Stay Appy! (Oh, CoVID-19 times; Stay Safe too!)

Oh God! Missed it again!