Why PlxNative isn't in the LG Content Store

[GLinnik21]

TL;DR: LG has now answered in writing: the regular Seller Lounge process (registration and functional QA) is Web-only. Native apps like Netflix and Apple TV are in the store under separate agreements with LG, which LG won't discuss. So PlxNative can't go through the normal developer route, and a store release isn't something I can promise or expect any time soon. Development continues as usual, and Developer Mode via Releases stays the way to install for now.

What LG said (19 Oct)

• Registration and functional QA for standard apps are designed exclusively for Web apps.
• Apps like Netflix and Apple TV "may operate under separate agreements or distinct procedures", which they can't talk about.
• The "File Type: Native" option in Seller Lounge doesn't mean Native apps are supported for general developers.

How we got here
For over six weeks I was working from a Web-only checklist ("register with Chipset = All") that a native app can't satisfy, even though Seller Lounge itself labels the package as Native and let it through two QA rounds. I'd much rather have heard "Web only" on day one. The full timeline is below.

What happens next

• I'm not resubmitting.
• I asked LG's partnership channel (Seller Lounge 1:1 Q&A, Business Partnership, 19 Oct) whether there's any route for a native app. On 20 Oct Seller Lounge answered that it can't say anything about Native programs, partnership agreements or NDK access, and that this is outside its scope. I've now emailed LG's developer contact (developer@lge.com) to ask which team, if any, handles this. I wouldn't count on a yes, but I'll post whatever they answer here.
• I'll edit this post if anything changes. No edit means no news.
• I know the Developer Mode renewals are a pain, and that's exactly why I tried the store.

Latest: 20 Oct, Seller Lounge answered my partnership inquiry: it can't give any information on Native programs, partnership agreements or NDK access, and says that's outside its scope. I've emailed LG's developer contact (developer@lge.com) to ask who handles it. No answer yet.

Full history

September: packaging failure

• 4 Sep – The first submission fails. The notification email says only "failed", with no reason. I ask support what happened.
• 7–9 Sep – Support first says the app title isn't "verified" and asks me to double-check it, then says it can't see the QA history and asks for a screenshot. A second submission fails the same way on 8 Sep, again with no reason. On 9 Sep they say they're checking with the relevant department.
• 11 Sep – The cause: their packaging validator rejected the Maintainer email in the package's control file (a GitHub no-reply address containing "+"). That one was a real problem on my side. It took a week to learn a reason the failure email could have stated.
• 13 Sep – I fix the control file, rebuild and resubmit right away.

October: QA

• 7 Oct – The first QA result arrives, about three weeks after my resubmission. Pre-test QA rejects the package: the IPK is registered per chipset, and must be registered with Chipset = "All" (plus 1920×1080 and 1280×720).
• 8 Oct – Support: register with Chipset "All". I answer that for a Native package Seller Lounge has no "All" option, only 114 individual chipsets, and ask how to do it.
• 12 Oct – Support repeats the same instruction (and says 1920×1080 alone is acceptable, although the defect asks for both). I ask three specific questions: the exact steps, what "All" means, and what the registered file table should look like.
• 13 Oct – Support's answer is a screenshot of a Web app's chipset list and the same "set All". The app is rejected again in QA for the same reason (second round), and I escalate with a screenshot of the Native screen.
• 14 Oct – LG: "All Chipsets" can be selected only if the File Type is Web, and I should verify the file is recognized as Native (the screenshot I sent from their own portal already showed Native). I reply that the defect can't be fulfilled for a Native package and ask them to close it or tell me the exact registration they'd accept.
• 15 Oct – LG: Functional QA is performed only for Web apps, so the submission is being treated as a Web app and I should follow the Web criteria. I reply with evidence (the manifest says native, the main file is a compiled ARM executable, the package has no HTML/JS/CSS) and ask them to route it to the right review process or close the defect.
• 16 Oct – LG: Native Type apps are not supported for registration or distribution through Seller Lounge, and a Native app cannot be registered as a webOS TV application. This is the first time that was stated. The upload form offers File Type = Native, and the package went through QA rounds on 7 and 13 Oct.
• 16 Oct (me) – I reply that native apps such as Netflix and Apple TV are in the store, so "not supported" can't be the full answer, and ask for the actual approval criteria and process, or a written reason.
• 19 Oct – LG: the registration and functional QA process for standard apps is designed exclusively for Web apps; native apps like those I mentioned may operate under separate agreements or procedures, which they can't discuss; and the "File Type"/"Native" labels in Seller Lounge don't mean Native is supported for general developers. So the standard route is closed for Native apps.
• 19 Oct (me) – I send an inquiry through Seller Lounge 1:1 Q&A (Partnership → Business Partnership): is there any program or process for a third-party developer to propose a Native app (or get NDK access) for the Content Store, which team handles it, and what are the requirements. I ask for a short written answer even if the answer is no.
• 20 Oct – Seller Lounge replies the next day: standard registration and QA support Web apps only, so Native apps can't be submitted or reviewed there, and it can't give any information on Native programs, partnership agreements, NDK access, application procedures or qualification requirements. It also won't say whether third-party developers can propose Native apps or whether any separate program exists, calling all of it outside the scope of Seller Lounge support. No contact or next step is named.
• 20 Oct (me) – I email developer@lge.com, the address on LG's webOS TV Developer contact page, summarizing the above and asking which LG team or contact, if any, handles Native app partnerships, or to confirm that no such program is open to third-party developers.

[thisbansal]

So that's why Apple TV App was so fast while my React based plex app which I've been using for a while was not! Thanks for the great work here. I've just started using your native app via dev mode and have to say, AWESOME WORK! Hope you get to put your app on the app store. You deserve it ma dude. Also, just a side note, if I were to make some improvements and raise pull requests, would you accept?

[GLinnik21]

So that's why Apple TV App was so fast while my React based plex app which I've been using for a while was not!

Yes. That's why I even started to research what's going on. Why do big tech apps run so fast, and other apps from the store are literally trash

[GLinnik21]

Also, just a side note, if I were to make some improvements and raise pull requests, would you accept?

Thanks, dude! It depends on the implementation and what the changes are, but as you can see, I’m generally happy to accept PRs.

If it’s UI design-related, though, we might be stuck in a PR review loop for quite a while 😅