app_version_plus #

A comprehensive Flutter plugin for checking app version updates across Android (Play Store), iOS (App Store), and Huawei (AppGallery) — with built-in support for Android In-App Updates via Google Play Core.

✨ Features #

• ✅ Multi-Platform Support — Android, iOS, and Huawei AppGallery
• ✅ Android In-App Updates — Immediate and Flexible update flows via Google Play Core
• ✅ Auto Device Detection — Automatically detects Huawei devices
• ✅ Two Usage Modes — Ready-to-use UI widget or function-only for custom UI
• ✅ Rich Store Information — Version, release notes, ratings, downloads, app icon, and more
• ✅ Customizable — Full control over UI and behavior
• ✅ Type-Safe — Full Dart null-safety support
• ✅ Auto Fallback — Falls back to Play Store URL if In-App Update is unavailable

📸 Screenshots #

Showcase 1	Showcase 2

Supported Platforms #

📦 Installation #

Add to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  app_version_plus: ^0.1.0

Then run:

flutter pub get

🚀 Quick Start #

Option 1: Ready-to-Use UI (Simplest) #

import 'package:app_version_plus/app_version_plus.dart';

final checker = AppVersionChecker(
  androidId: 'com.example.app',
  iOSId: 'com.example.app',
);

final versionInfo = await checker.checkForUpdate();

if (versionInfo != null && versionInfo.canUpdate) {
  showDialog(
    context: context,
    barrierDismissible: false,
    builder: (context) => VersionUpdateDialog(
      versionInfo: versionInfo,
      cancelButtonText: 'Later',
    ),
  );
}

On Android, tapping Update automatically triggers the Play Core In-App Update flow. On iOS it opens the App Store. On Huawei it downloads the APK directly.

Option 2: Custom UI (More Control) #

final checker = AppVersionChecker();
final versionInfo = await checker.checkForUpdate();

if (versionInfo != null && versionInfo.canUpdate) {
  print('Current: ${versionInfo.localVersion}');
  print('Latest:  ${versionInfo.storeVersion}');

  // Build your own UI, then trigger the update:
  await checker.launchStore(versionInfo: versionInfo);
}

📖 Configuration #

AppVersionChecker Parameters #

final checker = AppVersionChecker(
  // App IDs for each store (defaults to current package name)
  androidId: 'com.example.app',
  iOSId: 'com.example.app',
  huaweiId: 'com.example.app',

  // Store locale / country
  androidPlayStoreCountry: 'id_ID',
  iOSAppStoreCountry: 'ID',

  // Release notes format
  androidHtmlReleaseNotes: false,
  huaweiHtmlReleaseNotes: false,

  // Android In-App Update type (Android only)
  // AndroidUpdateType.immediate — fullscreen blocking, user must update before continuing
  // AndroidUpdateType.flexible — background download, user stays in app (default: immediate)
  androidUpdateType: AndroidUpdateType.immediate,

  // Override device type for testing
  overrideDeviceType: DeviceType.android,

  // Force a version string for testing
  forceAppVersion: '2.0.0',
);

Android In-App Update Types #

// Immediate update (default)
AppVersionChecker(androidUpdateType: AndroidUpdateType.immediate)

// Flexible update — user stays in app while downloading
AppVersionChecker(androidUpdateType: AndroidUpdateType.flexible)

For flexible updates, when the download finishes, a snackbar appears automatically prompting the user to restart and apply the update.

📊 Version Information #

The VersionInfo object provides rich data from the store:

final versionInfo = await checker.checkForUpdate();

// Version comparison
versionInfo.canUpdate         // bool
versionInfo.updateAvailability // UpdateAvailability enum
versionInfo.isMajorUpdate     // bool
versionInfo.isMinorUpdate     // bool
versionInfo.isPatchUpdate     // bool

// Update flow config (Android)
versionInfo.androidUpdateType // AndroidUpdateType

// App metadata
versionInfo.appName           // String?
versionInfo.developerName     // String?
versionInfo.appIconUrl        // String?
versionInfo.rating            // double? (1.0–5.0)
versionInfo.ratingCount       // int?
versionInfo.downloadCount     // String? (Android/Huawei only)
versionInfo.ageRating         // String?
versionInfo.releaseNotes      // String?
versionInfo.lastUpdateDate    // DateTime?
versionInfo.appStoreLink      // String

🎨 Dialog Customization #

VersionUpdateDialog(
  versionInfo: versionInfo,

  // Text
  title: 'Update Tersedia',
  message: 'Versi baru tersedia! Silakan update sekarang.',
  updateButtonText: 'Update Sekarang',
  cancelButtonText: 'Nanti',       // omit to hide cancel button
  whatsNewLabel: "What's New",
  
  // Date formatting
  dateFormat: 'd MMMM yyyy',
  dateLocale: 'id',

  // Update button style
  updateButtonColor: Colors.green,
  updateButtonGradient: LinearGradient(
    colors: [Colors.green, Colors.teal],
  ),

  // Cancel button style
  cancelButtonColor: Colors.grey,

  // Layout
  showReleaseNotes: true,
  barrierDismissible: false,
  backgroundColor: Colors.white,
)

🔧 Advanced Usage #

Force Update (Cannot Dismiss) #

showDialog(
  context: context,
  barrierDismissible: false,
  builder: (context) => VersionUpdateDialog(
    versionInfo: versionInfo,
    barrierDismissible: false, // no cancel button, no back gesture
  ),
);

Manual Device Override (Testing) #

// Test Huawei flow on a non-Huawei device
final checker = AppVersionChecker(
  overrideDeviceType: DeviceType.huawei,
  huaweiId: 'com.example.app',
);

Cache Control #

// Bypass cache and fetch fresh data
final versionInfo = await checker.checkForUpdate(forceRefresh: true);

// Clear all cached data
checker.clearCache();

Using InAppUpdateService Directly #

For custom update UIs on Android:

import 'package:app_version_plus/app_version_plus.dart';

final service = InAppUpdateService(
  onFlexibleUpdateDownloaded: () {
    // Show your own prompt, then call:
    service.completeFlexibleUpdate();
  },
);

// Check availability
final info = await service.checkUpdateAvailability();
if (info != null && info.hasUpdate) {
  await service.startImmediateUpdate();
  // or
  await service.startFlexibleUpdate();
}

🔧 Platform-Specific Notes #

Android (Play Store) #

• Version info fetched via Play Store scraping
• In-App Updates powered by Google Play Core — requires the app to be installed from Google Play (Internal Testing track or higher)
• If In-App Update is unavailable (sideloaded APK, emulator without Play Services), the dialog automatically falls back to opening the Play Store URL

iOS (App Store) #

• Uses the official iTunes Lookup API — more reliable than scraping
• Tapping Update opens the App Store listing
• No download count available from Apple

Huawei (AppGallery) #

• Auto-detected on Huawei/Honor devices via device_info_plus
• Version info fetched via APKPure scraping
• Tapping Update triggers a direct APK download

❓ FAQ #

Q: Do In-App Updates work on emulators? A: Only if the emulator has Google Play Services and the app is installed from the Play Store. Use Internal Testing track for testing.

Q: What happens if the user is not on Google Play? A: The dialog detects this automatically and falls back to opening the Play Store URL — no crash, no extra configuration needed.

Q: Can I use flexible and immediate for different update severities? A: Yes. Check versionInfo.isMajorUpdate and pass the appropriate androidUpdateType to AppVersionChecker.

Q: How does Huawei detection work? A: device_info_plus reads the device manufacturer. If it matches "huawei" or "honor", AppGallery/APKPure flow is used instead of Play Store.

Q: Can I force an update so the user cannot skip? A: Yes — use AndroidUpdateType.immediate on Android (Play Core blocks the UI), or set barrierDismissible: false and omit cancelButtonText in the dialog for iOS/Huawei.

Q: Does this work offline? A: No — an internet connection is required to check the store and to fetch update info.

🔧 Troubleshooting #

Getting ERROR_API_NOT_AVAILABLE error #

Be aware that this plugin cannot be tested locally. It must be installed via Google Play to work. Please check the official documentation about In-App Updates from Google:

• Android In-App Updates Overview
• How to Test In-App Updates

🤝 Contributing #

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.

📄 License #

Licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.