TIER 3 — The basic, entry-level tier of the Large screen app quality guidelines.
THE FIRST STEP in creating a great app for large screens is making your app large screen ready.
Large screen ready apps run full screen in landscape and portrait orientations, full window in multi‑window mode. Apps provide basic support for external input devices, including keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and stylus. Large screen ready camera apps provide a camera preview that's always in the proper aspect ratio and orientation.
App layout might not be ideal, but the app is never letterboxed, never runs in compatibility mode, and users can complete all task flows.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Maintain state during configuration changes
- Support multi-window mode and multi-resume
- Support external keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and stylus
Don't
- Lock app orientation to either portrait or landscape when full screen or in multi‑window mode
- Restrict camera preview dimensions or orientation
Guidelines
Follow the Tier 3 guidelines to get your app ready for large screens.
Configuration and continuity
Make your app large screen ready by retaining and restoring state and resuming ongoing processes, such as media playback, during device configuration changes.
Guideline LS-C1
What
App fills the available display area—either the entire screen or the app window in multi‑window mode—in both portrait and landscape orientations and is not letterboxed. App handles configuration changes and retains or restores its state as the device changes orientation, the app window resizes, or the device folds or unfolds.
Why
Configuration changes such as device rotation, window size changes in multi-window mode, and folding or unfolding a foldable device can cause users to lose context or (even worse) data.
How
Learn how to handle configuration changes and maintain app continuity in Configuration and continuity.
Multi-window and multi-resume
Enable your app to run in multi‑window mode alongside other apps either in split‑screen mode or desktop windowing mode.
What
App fills the app window and is fully functional in multi‑window mode. App supports multi‑resume in multi‑window mode. App updates its UI and ongoing processes, such as media playback, when the app is not the top focused app. App manages access to exclusive resources such as cameras.
Why
Large screens make multi‑window mode more usable. Multi‑window mode makes users more productive.
How
Learn how to develop for multi-window mode in Multi-window mode and multi-resume.
