DevRel 35 is all about visibility. Among other things, we’ve made changes to layouts in the Console, added an improved alert implementation, and introduced channels to give you a better view of the devices you are managing.
A quick overview:
- New, cleaner console layouts
- New alert implementation
- Set alerts on Bluetooth along with Network and Battery.
- Set alert frequency and interval
- Edit or delete alert notifications
- Disable system updates for supported devices
- Create Channels for communication
- Turn location on or off on Android 9 and newer devices
- Schedule app installations using device time
- Device SDK API to configure AppOp Permission modes
Layout Changes
Esper console has new, cleaner layouts with a tighter design for Devices, Groups, Apps, and Pipelines. All the information you need without anything you don’t.
We’ve added a shadow effect, a minor animation effect, and a hover effect to show names in tiles view of devices, groups, apps, and template sections.
We’ve improved the icons for device representation and lozenges for device tags. We’ve improved the breadcrumbs and scrolling and added more details to device tags. That means you no longer have to scroll around infinitely to find things; you can jump to a particular page directly.
We improved the Geofence section to show more information in table view. We even tightened up the design of the Pipeline tiles view. All to make your Console easier and more powerful.
Take a look at the new grid-view for devices:
Or the new Apps view:
New Device Alert Implementation
We’ve our alerting system for the devices you manage. You have had two alerts:
- Device Battery– triggers an alert when device battery is less than or more than a specified value.
- Device Network– triggers an alert when a device is offline for more than a specified duration.
To these, we’ve added a new one:
- Device Bluetooth– triggers an alert when Bluetooth is turned on or off on a device.
Alert Frequency
The Esper Console now lets you set alert notification frequency and interval.
Alert Recipients
The Esper Console now also lets you better control to whom an alert will be delivered. You can enter a single email address or set the alert to go to a channel. More about channels below.
Ability to Edit or Delete Alert Notifications
The Esper console keeps details of all the alerts that have been triggered. These are listed on the Alerts page. Now, clicking on the ellipsis (…) listed with an alert will now give you the ability to edit or delete the notification associated with that alert—right from the Alerts panel.
Ability to Disable System Updates
We’ve also added the ability to disable system updates in a template. If a device does not support this feature, system updates will be postponed. Please contact us regarding device models that support this feature.
Channels
We’ve added channels. A channel lets you create a list of contact information and then use that list to subscribe to alerts. It’s an enter once and use again and again solution. Currently, we only support email notifications, but stay tuned…
Location On/Off for Android 9 and 10
For any device running Android 9 or newer operating system, you can now remotely enable or disable GPS location in the Settings section. If the device has an older Android version, you can continue to choose from the options available.
Schedule Installs Using Device Time
Now you can choose between using the device’s time or your console’s time when scheduling an application installation or uninstallation for a group.
If you select device time when you schedule an app installation, the installation will be performed on the devices in that group whenever it’s the specified time on each device.
You also have the option to define a recurring schedule—for instance, to schedule an application installation every Monday between 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM from May 1st to May 10th.
Device SDK API to Configure AppOp Permission Modes
We’ve added a new API to our Device SDK that will allow you to manage any AppOp permission such as MediaProjection, Draw Over Other Apps, get process usage stats, write system settings, etc. Currently, this feature is supported for Android 9 and above.
Other Changes on the Console
- You may still ‘Preview’ the Device template for devices even if the template is deleted or renamed.
- We’ve added titles for the Esper URLs that correspond to each section.
That’s what’s new. There are even more features and changes coming with DevRel 36, scheduled for mid-May.
In the meantime, we’d love to have your thoughts on this latest sprint. Please send your suggestions, questions, and comments by submitting a ticket.
More in two weeks!