Xamarin.Forms - Open App Store or Play Store in XamarinApp | Xamarin Tutorial

Xamarin.Forms - Open App Store or Play Store in XamarinApp

Introduction

Xamarin.Forms code runs on multiple platforms - each of which has its own filesystem. This means that reading and writing files are most easily done using the native file APIs on each platform. Alternatively, embedded resources are a simpler solution to distribute data files with an app.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2017 or later (Windows or Mac)

Setting up a Xamarin.Forms Project

Start by creating a new Xamarin.Forms project. You wíll learn more by going through the steps yourself.

Create a new or existing Xamarin forms(.Net standard) Project. With Android and iOS Platform.

Note: Your app must be live in the App Store and Playstore

Android

Here, you need the Android app id Ex:com.twitter.android.
I'm using Twitter for this sample.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twitter.android

Code

if (Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.Android)
{
url = "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twitter.android";
await Browser.OpenAsync(url, BrowserLaunchMode.External);
}

iOS

Here, you need AppName and AppId with a location you will get app name and aped from apple developer connect.

https://apps.apple.com/in/app/twitter/id333903271

Code

var location = RegionInfo.CurrentRegion.Name.ToLower();
if (Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.iOS)
{
url = "https://itunes.apple.com/" + location + "/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8";
await Browser.OpenAsync(url, BrowserLaunchMode.External);
}

Simple UI

MainPage.xaml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ContentPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             xmlns:d="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms/design"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
             xmlns:TitleView="clr-namespace:XamarinApp.CustomView"
             mc:Ignorable="d" x:Class="XamarinApp.MainPage">

    <NavigationPage.TitleView>
      <TitleView:TitleView/>
    </NavigationPage.TitleView>

    <StackLayout Margin="0,100,0,0" VerticalOptions="StartAndExpand">
        <Image VerticalOptions="Center" Source="xamarinmonkeysbanner.png"/>

        <Button Text="Update your app" Clicked="Button_Clicked" />
        
    </StackLayout>
</ContentPage>

Full Source Code

MainPage.xaml.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Xamarin.Essentials;
using Xamarin.Forms;

namespace XamarinApp
{
    // Learn more about making custom code visible in the Xamarin.Forms previewer
    // by visiting https://aka.ms/xamarinforms-previewer
    [DesignTimeVisible(false)]
    public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
    {
        public MainPage()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        async void Button_Clicked(System.Object sender, System.EventArgs e)
        {
            
            string url = string.Empty;
            var location = RegionInfo.CurrentRegion.Name.ToLower();
            if (Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.Android)
                url = "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twitter.android";
            else if (Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.iOS)
                url = "https://itunes.apple.com/" + location + "/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8";
            await Browser.OpenAsync(url, BrowserLaunchMode.External);
        }

       
    }
}

Alternate way

You can use Lancher.OpenAsync also for opening App Store and Play store.

Launcher.OpenAsync(new Uri("https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/facebook/id284882215?mt=8"));

Using Dependency Service

Interface

using System;
namespace XamarinApp
{
    public interface IOpenAppStore
    {
        
        void OpenAppStore();
    }
}

iOS Implementation

Below sample code for open App store in App iOS.

[assembly:Dependency(typeof(AppStoreImplementation))]
namespace XamarinApp.iOS
{
    public class AppStoreImplementation : IOpenAppStore
    {
        public void OpenAppStore()
        {
            Device.OpenUri(new Uri("https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/facebook/id284882215?mt=8"));
        }

    }
}

Android Implementation

Below sample code for open play store in App android.

[assembly:Dependency(typeof(AppStoreImplementation))]
namespace XamarinApp.Android
{
    public class AppStoreImplementation : IOpenAppStore
    {
        public void OpenAppStore()
        {
            Device.OpenUri(new Uri("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twitter.android"));
        }

    }
}

Debug your app

I hope you have understood you will learn how to Open the Play Store or App Store in XamarinApp.

Thanks for reading. Please share your comments and feedback. Happy Coding :)