Can you really filter in/out tablets from using your app?

Question

Many tablets like Galaxy Tab report as large screens, instead of xlarge. So if I filter out tablets from using my app via

<supports-screens
            android:smallScreens="true"
            android:normalScreens="true"
            android:largeScreens="true"
            android:xlargeScreens="false"
            />

Does it mean that no tablet will be able to see my app on Play Store? Not even Galaxy Tab and similar devices (which are recognized as large-hdpi?

The same thing. If I make a tablet app and want it to be used only by tablet and set it via

<supports-screens
            android:smallScreens="false"
            android:normalScreens="false"
            android:largeScreens="false"
            android:xlargeScreens="true"
            />

Will any Galaxy Tab or similar device be able to see this app?

Answer 1

You can't filter out tablets completely. Android eco system don't differentiation between tablets and phones. You should focus on making your app look nice on the various screen sizes and if you don't want to support xlarge screen size then so be it. But users will still be able to view it on a tablet in support mode (see here for more info).

There is a similar post with discussion here. Basically you can change the manifest a little but you'll end up filter some tablet devices out and phones with large displays might be able to download still: Designing an android tablet-only app.

Answer 2

You can prevent smartphones from using tablet apps by not supporting small screen sizes, but when you use a smartphone app on a tablet, it will simply stretch