Exciting Features in the new Adobe Mobile SDK (AEP)

It’s time to say goodbye to an old friend (or foe) – version 4.x of Adobe’s mobile SDK. It is officially loosing support on August 31 2021…luckily you still have plenty of time to say your goodbye and begin migrating. You can find the details here. Oooh and by the way we’re hosting a webinar September 16th on how to migrate, check it out!

Ever since my colleagues found out that I wrote and released a mobile game to the iOS/Android app stores (albeit a simple one) I’ve been the ‘mobile guy’. I’ve worked with many clients over the years getting them setup on 4.x and working with app developers in a never ending back-and-forth of QA, bug fixes and new tracking. While I have a fondness for our times together I’m very excited about what AEP (5.x)* has in store.

*In a necessary but slightly confusing rebranding the mobile SDKs are now known as “Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDKs”. You can think of this as v5.x but in reality each extension has it’s own version and have started at v1.0.0 – here is a list.

As tag managers rocketed into the future with modern and forward thinking architecture, the mobile SDKs were beginning to feel left behind. The first thing you’ll notice about AEP is that Tags (formerly Adobe Launch) is involved in a big way.

• The JSON configuration file has been replaced with Tags – which allows settings to be updated at anytime without an app release and managed using a friendly UI.
• Tags now provides install instructions including Gradle/Cocapods support (waahoo!). This has been streamlined and is pretty much copy/paste.
• Rules & Data Elements! There is still no substitute for developers adding TrackState / TrackAction calls throughout the app providing well structured data but Tags rules allow for more flexibility. I’m very excited to see what direction the Tags developers take this, I’m sure we’ll see more control and flexibility.

Modular architecture – You can think of each extension as a separate SDK that’s orchestrated via Tags. The catalog will certainly continue to grow and just like on the web each extension can have it’s own rules/events/conditions/data elements.

AEP Assurance (formerly Project Griffon) – One of the most exciting extensions currently available, provides a streamlined UI for debugging Analytics and other tools on the app…no proxy needed! This is a big deal if you’ve ever tried to use Charles Proxy on a corporate network without success.

Some things to keep in mind.

• Adding a new extension does require an app release since you’re essentially adding a new SDK to the app.
• Be sure to review the compatibility checklist before diving into your migration.

Have you used the AEP SDKs? What is your favorite feature? Share in the comments.