Preview an Android app before launch — with a link

Getting a stakeholder to look at a pre-launch build usually means test accounts, sideloading instructions, or a screen-share call. PreviewAPK replaces all of it with a link: upload the APK, and your PM, client, or investor opens the real app running in their browser — no install, no Play Console testing track, no "it doesn't work on my phone."

A preview is not a prototype

Prototype tools show a simulation: static screens wired together, happy-path only, no real data and no real behavior. That's fine for early design questions, but stakeholders approve what they think the app does — then act surprised at launch. A PreviewAPK preview is the actual build running on a real Android device (you pick Android 10–15 and a Pixel 9 Pro or Galaxy S24 profile). The login really logs in. The list really scrolls. Feedback lands on the product you're about to ship, not on a drawing of it.

How a stakeholder preview works

1. Upload the build you want reviewed — debug or release, released or not.
2. Send the link. Your running session has a share link. Paste it into the email, doc, or chat thread where the review is already happening — anyone opening it watches the current build live.
3. They open it and the app boots in seconds. They watch live while you drive from your portal — viewers never get control, which is the point.

Each session's link lives while the session runs and dies with it — a fresh run gets a fresh link, so feedback always lands on the build that was actually on screen. Sessions idle-stop after 15 minutes.

Why pre-launch feedback loops get faster

• Zero setup on the reviewer's side — no test accounts, no joining a testing program, no installs to troubleshoot before feedback even starts.
• Approvals happen on the real thing — copy, spacing, flow, and behavior exactly as users will get them.
• One link, always current — the link you sent last week opens the build you attached today. Nobody reviews a stale version by accident.
• Controlled exposure — previews stream in the browser; the APK download is off by default and enabled per device only if you want testers to install it on real phones via QR.

Who previews apps this way

Founders showing investors a working product instead of a pitch-deck screenshot. PMs collecting sign-off from people who will never join a beta track. Agencies putting the week's build in front of a client and getting a yes on the call instead of a week of email. If the person whose opinion you need can't or won't install a test build, a preview link is the difference between feedback today and feedback never.

What it costs

PreviewAPK is a flat $19/month per device with unlimited testing — previews included, no minute meters running during a stakeholder call. It's in private beta now; the waitlist locks in the launch price.

Previews that keep up with your pipeline

If a person has to upload the APK, previews lag behind builds. So the upload is optional: your CI can push every build with the CLI or API, and your AI agent can push its own builds, run them, and screenshot the result to verify a change before presenting it. The link in your pull request is that session's own: the workflow posts the fresh link of the run it just started, and it opens that build.

FAQ

How do preview links work with CI or an AI agent?

Your CI or agent pushes the build (CLI, API, or MCP), starts the session, and posts the session's share link to the pull request — the link opens that build, live. An agent can also start a session in agent-driven mode, tap through the app, and capture screenshots to verify its work, then hand the session to you. Stakeholders opening the link only ever watch.

How can someone preview my app without installing it?

Upload your APK to PreviewAPK, start the session, and send them its share link. Your app runs on a real Android device in the cloud, and they watch it live in their browser while you drive it from your portal. They install nothing and need no test account.

Is a preview the same as a prototype?

No. A prototype is a clickable mockup that imitates the app. A PreviewAPK preview is the real build running on a real Android device — actual data, actual logic, actual performance — so feedback is about the product, not the mockup.

Can I preview an unreleased app?

Yes — that's the main use case. Any debug or release APK works, whether or not it exists on the Play Store. Downloads stay off unless you enable them per device, so an unreleased build isn't handed out as a file by default.

Who can see my preview link?

Anyone you give the link to can open it — that's what makes it effortless for stakeholders. Share links the way you'd share a document link, with the people who should see the build.

Keep going

• Share an APK with a link — the mechanics of sending builds to anyone.
• Install APK online — when reviewers do need the build on a real phone.
• Run Android apps in your browser — how cloud devices stream apps to any browser.