Overview

If you see a “Not available on this device” message when launching an app, it is because AVA OS launches apps only on Android devices.

AVA OS runs on Android—the same platform as the AVA Cinema Remote. Although an app may have the same name on other platforms, that app on iPhone, iPad, Windows, and macOS is not the same app.

Key Takeaways

• App launch is Android-only. AVA OS can open apps on AVA remotes and other certified Android devices.
• Same names, different apps. A “Sonos” app on iPhone isn’t the same as “Sonos” on Android. Only Android apps have the package IDs that AVA OS can launch.

Background

App launching in AVA OS works on Android only.

Any other platform that the AVA companion app can run on has a vastly different system architecture for its software, and may not even have the same apps as Android.

Example: “Ring”

Amazon’s “Ring” app provides a good example:

• There is no Ring app for Mac OS.
• The Ring app for Windows has been discontinued.
• And while the Ring apps for iOS and Android have the same name and work very similarly, they are entirely separate apps, Their package identifiers—the unique name that AVA OS would use to launch the two apps—

Android package IDs—unique identifiers that tell the system which app to open. It doesn’t look for the app’s name, but for that specific ID.

For example:

• Ring on Android: com.ringapp
• Ring on iOS: com.ring.ios
• Ring on Mac & Windows: ring.com 

Although called Ring, they are separate apps built for different systems. AVA OS is based on Android, so it can only launch apps that exist on Android. Fortunately, the other platforms all have their own native launchers for apps.

The AVA Companion app on iPhone, iPad, Windows, or macOS can control an AVA OS system, but it can’t perform Android-only actions such as launching apps.