Big news for Zwifters today as Zwift Beta for Android is now available. While not nearly as polished as Zwift for iOS, it is a very functional beta version which will surely be improved over time as beta users test and send feedback to Zwift support.
With this announcement Zwift takes a big step towards making it that much easier to start riding and running indoors. Availability on the Android platform means a dramatic increase in the number of people who can have Zwift at their fingertips using a device they already own.
Speaking of devices: it is not yet clear which Android devices are capable of running Zwift. The app description simple says “… we will only be supporting devices with higher-end graphics processors.” My guess is that, like running Zwift on a PC, users may need to simply install and test to see how good the experience is on their specific phone or tablet.
Here are more details from the Google Play listing:
Thank you for trying Zwift Beta for Android. Zwift has a fairly high requirement for our world full of Zwifters to run smoothly, so we will only be supporting devices with higher-end graphics processors. Since Android devices exist across a broad spectrum of performance, we need your help testing against your devices. Simply giving it a try will allow us to monitor how the software performs, and if you have additional feedback please email beta@zwift.com.
One last thing – we do know of several major outstanding issues, and we’re actively working to resolve them. They include:
- For trainers that emit power and cadence, cadence is approximated
- Trainer resistance not reliable across all trainers
- Trainer spin-down not supported
- In-game screenshots not supported
- Some heart rate monitors may not work
- ANT+ not yet supported on Samsung devices
- Entering text into Zwift may require 2 taps into the text field to activate keyboard….
SUPPORTED BLUETOOTH HARDWARE:
- Cycling Power Meters
- Cycling Speed Sensor (for non-smart trainers)
- Cycling Cadence Sensor (optional)
- Smart Trainers
- Running footpods
- Select Bluetooth 4.0 Treadmills
- Heart Rate strap (optional)
SUPPORTED BICYCLE TRAINERS:
- Wahoo KICKR & SNAP
- Tacx Smart models
- Elite B+ models
- Kurt Kinetic inRide
- Kurt Kinetic Smart
- Cycleops Bluetooth models
- All classic (non-smart) trainers, with use of a Bluetooth speed sensor
SUPPORTED TREADMILLS AND FOOTPODS FOR RUNNING:
- BowFlex BXT116/BXT216 treadmills
- Any StarTrac treadmills with a bluetooth button
- LifeFitness T3 home treadmills
- True Fitness Performance 300
- Stryd foot pod
- Milestone pod
- Polar Stride Sensor
- UnderArmour Record Equipped shoes
It seems to run fine on my Galaxy S7, but I am away from my trainer right this second so I can’t fully test it.
One minor glitch was that pasting the password into the password field was weird, and took a little effort to get working.
Where does one go to report issues/bugs?
Send to beta@zwift.com for feedback.
Not available in UK 🙁
Typical 😡
Yeah it is
Not available in Brazil, using a Galaxy S7.
Give it a day or two as the release is rolled out region by region.
My first ride review of the Android Beta platform.
Nice! That was quick yet thorough test–looks like it worked well for you.
What does the Zwift Beta for Android being offered do that the existing Zwift Companion not do?
Zwift Beta for Android is the entire Zwift game… Zwift Companion is just a “companion app” which lets you interact with the game as it runs on another device.
It doesn’t show up in the play store for me (Item not found) when I go there from the web page version of the play store and choose ‘Open in play store app’. Is any special action required? I’m in the UK.
I can’t see it in the UK Play Store either, despite checking for the last few days :/
Think I’ve figured out why – when I look in the Play Store on my desktop it shows up and says that it’s “incompatible with all of your devices”. In my case an old Samsung tablet and a budget Moto G4 phone. Not surprising really!
I’m using a decent specification Samsung tablet (Galaxy Tab A6 T580), which should be more than capable of running it. I don’t see any message about incompatibility, it’s not found at all.