We Skipped DevRel 51 due to the holiday season and Esper’s PCI DSS audit. DevRel 52 includes updates and improvements to Esper’s administrator experience via the Dashboard, Remote Control Feature, QR codes, and more. Here’s a quick look at what’s new:
- Added Pipeline Runs to Revamped Dashboard
- Remote Control Enabled by Default for All Devices
- New Info and Icons Added to Device Tiles
- EAP Framework Support Added to Wi-Fi Settings
- Updates to the About Device Section of the Esper Settings App
- New Device SDK Support for App Developers
- QR Code Optimized for Low-End Android Cameras
1] Added Pipeline Runs to Revamped Dashboard
The dashboard of the Esper cloud console has been revamped and improved for better Android DevOps at scale. The dashboard still contains an overview of Device status, a Security summary, Device location and Alerts. And, we’ve added a new dashboard graphic to provide details on Recent Pipeline Runs.
Users have an option on the Top right corner “Switch to Old Experience” to go back to the old dashboard.
2] Remote Control Enabled for All Devices
Remote control via Esper console is now possible for any device with Android OS version 7.x+. This option is possible thanks to Android Accessibility service. It’s not designed as a primary option for remote control but it can now be enabled by end user permission request for non-Knox Samsung devices and other devices without an Esper supervisor previously required for remote control support.
3] New Info and Icons Added to Device Tiles
In the grid view of the Devices and Groups section, tiles have been modified to offer more information and images for different device brands and models. Esper admin users can remove the default tile images or upload a new icon.
4] EAP Framework Support Added to Wi-Fi Settings
The Wi-Fi section of Esper’s provisioning template now includes support for the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) framework. Customers can now remotely push Wi-Fi configurations that support EAP security types to their Android devices. Wi-Fi settings with EAP support can be accessed via the provisioning template or under Device Settings post-provisioning.
5] Updates to the About Device Section of the Esper Settings App
If you have the Esper Settings app enabled on your fleet devices, you should now see additional data fields in the “About Device” section. Access point information is now also included when the device is connected to Cellular Network/Mobile Internet.
Also, you can now see the current battery percentage as “Battery Status” under the Hardware Information section.
6] New Device SDK Support for App Developers
App developers can use the Esper Device SDK to update the brightness of their managed device directly from the app. The new setBrightness SDK allows Esper developers to set brightness percentages.
The SDK also offers a new API for developers to set device orientation, choosing from:
- Auto
- Landscape
- Portrait
- Inverted Landscape
- Inverted Portrait
This is useful for custom device builders that require the ability to adjust the screen orientation in 90 degree increments.
7] QR Code Optimized for Low-End Android Cameras
Esper’s device template QR codes have been optimized for more consistent and faster scanning by devices with low-end cameras.
Learn more about Esper QR code provisioning and other Android provisioning methods in the Esper Console docs.
Bugs and Improvements
- Selected auto-rotation setting preferences are now persistent, even after devices are rebooted or after a crash.
- System Navigation issues for newer Nokia devices with gesture support have been fixed.
- Now, the Group name can be seen for the devices which are already wiped from the console.
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And, that’s it for DevRel 52. Esper’s team is working to deliver another batch of features and improvements in DevRel 53. Our next release is focused on customer experience. It is scheduled for the second week of February 2021.
Please reach out to share your thoughts on how Esper can improve your customer experience in DevRel 53, 54, and beyond.