If your app offers a subscription with multiple terms (e.g. monthly, annual), the messaging that advertises the subscription may be confusing to your customers.

Should you have seperate apps for Fire tablets and Fire TV? If you plan on selling the same in-app purchase items in both apps, you might want to consider the "one app" approach.

System X-Ray is useful for displaying system metrics on Fire TV, but did you know you can display information of your own choosing? Your app can send information to System X-Ray which will be displayed while your app is in the foreground. There are several ways this feature can be used, such as displaying static information, when a metric crosses different threshold boundaries, or when an event occurs. Let’s walk through some examples.

Examples

Static Information

If you test your app on multiple Fire TVs, you may have wished you could tell at a glance which Fire TV model you are testing. If you connect your Fire TVs to different WiFi networks, it would be helpful to see which network a Fire TV is currently connected to. System X-Ray can help you solve these problems. You can collect this information as your app starts up, and send it to System X-Ray.

private void updateMetrics(Context context, String buildModel, String ssid) {
    // Initialize Intent
    Intent intent = new Intent("com.amazon.ssm.METRICS_UPDATE");
    intent.putExtra("com.amazon.ssm.PACKAGENAME", context.getPackageName());

    // Add metrics
    intent.putExtra("Metrics1", buildModel);
    intent.putExtra("Metrics2", ssid);

    // Send
    context.sendBroadcast(intent);
}

Overview

Amazon Fire TV now has a feature called System X-Ray that allows developers to visually track device and application metrics while an application is in use. This is a useful tool for developers and testers, as it gives them pertinent metrics that can help diagnose issues within an app or game.

System X-Ray is available on all Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick devices with Fire OS version 5.0.2 and higher.

Getting Started

The System X-Ray feature is enabled in the Developer Tools Menu dialog. There are three ways to invoke the dialog.

• Remote Control: Press and hold “D-Pad Center” and “D-Pad Down” together for 5 seconds, then press the menu button on the remote.