SMART LOTTO Dev Log #9 — Android Launch: Find 12 Testers
Flutter Means Android Too
One of the main reasons for rebuilding in Flutter was Android support. Write once, deploy to both platforms — that's the promise.
The app was done. iOS submission was straightforward. Android should be the same, right?
Google Play's New Requirement
When I tried to publish for the first time through the Google Play Console, there was a requirement I hadn't anticipated.
New personal developer accounts must complete a closed testing phase before production release.
The conditions:
- Minimum 12 testers
- Minimum 14 days of testing
- Both conditions must be met before the app can go to production
I had no idea this existed. Apple's process requires review, but a single developer can ship immediately after approval. Google Play — at least for new personal accounts — now has this procedural gate.
Finding 12 Android Users When You're an iOS Developer
My immediate environment skews heavily toward iPhones. Most of my developer contacts use iOS. The Android users I know personally wouldn't get to 12.
I got as far as I could through direct contacts. Still short of 12.
The Solution: Android Developer Communities
Searching online, I found that Korean Android developer communities on KakaoTalk open chat had developed a mutual testing culture — developers exchanging closed test participation with each other.
"I'll test your app if you test mine."
Through a community forum connected to one of these chats, I found testers. Everyone was in roughly the same situation: indie developers with a finished app needing to clear the 14-day test requirement.
14 Days Later
12 testers, 14 days.
June 30, 2026 — SMART LOTTO launched on Android.
About five and a half years after the original iOS launch in December 2020.
Platform Differences Are Real
Apple: strict review, but ship when you pass.
Google: more permissive review, but procedural gates for new accounts that require community-building before you can ship.
For a solo iOS developer trying to ship on Android for the first time, that community gate was unexpectedly hard. Having almost no Android users in my immediate network made something that should have been routine take real effort.
Next: the final chapter — and how the app almost became invisible in South Korea after an App Store review battle.