Request: improve full screen native ad sample

[AndroidDeveloperLB]

These just don't look well for the full screen native ad sample, as they can often cover important content of the MediaView:

Please offer more logical sample for the full screen native ads. The docs show nicer ones:
https://developers.google.com/admob/android/native/full-screen

Maybe offer examples of how to set the MediaView content at the bottom/top/left/right, and have the other UI components around it.
Maybe offer some better on-top UI ?

BTW, trying to change orientation on this sample often causes a crash:

java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to read from field 'android.widget.Button com.google.example.gms.fullscreennativeexample.databinding.FragmentMainBinding.showAdButton' on a null object reference in method 'void com.google.example.gms.fullscreennativeexample.MainActivity.lambda$loadAd$5$com-google-example-gms-fullscreennativeexample-MainActivity(com.google.example.gms.fullscreennativeexample.MainFragment, com.google.android.gms.ads.nativead.NativeAd)'
                                                                      	at com.google.example.gms.fullscreennativeexample.MainActivity.lambda$loadAd$5$com-google-example-gms-fullscreennativeexample-MainActivity(MainActivity.java:156)
                                                                      	at com.google.example.gms.fullscreennativeexample.MainActivity$$ExternalSyntheticLambda3.onNativeAdLoaded(D8$$SyntheticClass:0)
                                                                      	at com.google.android.gms.internal.ads.zzbsl.zze(com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads-api@@24.6.0:2)
                                                                      	at com.google.android.gms.internal.ads.zzdip.zzS(com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads@@24.6.0:3)
                                                                      	at com.google.android.gms.internal.ads.zzdin.run(Unknown Source:2)

[NVentimiglia]

Thanks for the report,

We will look into this.

[AndroidDeveloperLB]

@NVentimiglia I need explanation of what's ok to do in full-screen native ads.
For example, I don't like that various UI components overlap the video/image, so is it ok to have a special logic based on what I get and the current situation?
For example, if I have a horizontal media in a portrait orientation, can I change its size and position, instead of still having it centered and taking full space, such as putting it at the bottom/top, and the rest of the UI in the rest of the space?
Or the analogue of it, when it's vertical media in a landscape orientation, so that I could for example put the media on the left/right, and the rest of the UI in the other side.

It's not exactly full screen anymore, but it actually takes as much as it can based on the aspect ratio...

Another problem is when the aspect ratio actually is similar to the screen aspect ratio, so UI components have much bigger chance of overlapping the media. I want to know what's allowed in this situation too.

[NVentimiglia]

I don't like that various UI components overlap the video/image,

The above image looks like an edge to edge bug. This should not be happening.

if I have a horizontal media in a portrait orientation, can I change its size and position

I would reload the ad. If you expect the user will rotate the app frequently, I suggest loading two ads. One for each orientation.

[AndroidDeveloperLB]

The above image looks like an edge to edge bug. This should not be happening.

Are you talking about the navigation bar? Look closely. I'm talking about the UI of he app. The card itself. It's on top of the media (video/image)...
On landscape it's even worse, taking about half the space that the media is supposed to show.

This demonstrates the issue that if full screen native ads aren't more flexible than what's shown in the docs, there is no way to present them nicely in many cases.

Read here:

https://developers.google.com/admob/android/native/full-screen#:~:text=Set%20your%20media%20view%20to%20a%20consistent%20size

Set your media view to a consistent size

Google always tries to serve the best-sized native assets for optimal performance. To facilitate this, the sizing for your native ads should be predictable and consistent. Your media view asset should be the same size for every ad request on the same device. To accomplish this, set your media view to a fixed size, or set the media view to MATCH_PARENT and make the parent view a fixed size. Repeat this step for every parent view of the media view that is not a fixed size.

About this:

I would reload the ad. If you expect the user will rotate the app frequently, I suggest loading two ads. One for each orientation.

That's not relevant to rotation of the device. As I've written, there are various scenarios, including in portrait. Not to mention there are devices (laptops/PCs/tablets...) that their natural orientation is landscape.

Suppose for example that you use a 9:16 aspect ratio smartphone (in portrait), and you also get a media (image/video) that has the same exact aspect ratio (meaning again portrait). If you use it in truly full screen, that means that no matter what you do, you will have UI components overlapping the media. As you don't have control and knowledge over what's important in the media, you can't assume anything about it, and there is always a chance that when you put your own content on top, it won't look well.

As it's native ad, developers need to handle at least these possible scenarios ("container" means full screen here, because of the docs):

1. Image/video in portrait, container in portrait
2. Image/video in portrait, container in landscape
3. Image/video in landscape, container in portrait
4. Image/video in landscape, container in landscape
5. No image/video at all.

The sample here doesn't cover even one, as it assume the same layout will work fine for all. It doesn't check the aspect ratio of the media and doesn't check the aspect ratio of the container.

I also wrote about this here, hoping someone from Admob will make things clearer in the docs, as they seem very restrictive, and the only sample we have is here, just ignoring all scenarios and obviously having the same issue:

[NVentimiglia]

@AndroidDeveloperLB

#955
#956

[AndroidDeveloperLB]

@NVentimiglia Thank you. It's not the only place and not the only sample here that have issues with the system bars. Even the ad-inspector still sometimes get cut there...
#783 (comment)

Are you working at Admob or have "connections" ?
If so, can you please tell them to make things clearer about full screen native ads?

[NVentimiglia]

• Yes, I am Admob.
• I will make a note to review the rest of the samples for this issue. 😢
• I filed a bug for the Ad Inspector issue.

I generally agree that the native ad developer guide is confusing, and would like to improve it. Lots of this is out of my power, and comes from the complexity of native ads itself.

That said, what changes would you like to see in the Full Screen Native Ad specifically?

[AndroidDeveloperLB]

@NVentimiglia Just if I can change the MediaView size and position based on what I'm getting from Admob (aspect ratio of the media, vs what I currently have).

This way (and this is only an example), I could have a layout similar to Admob's rewarded ads, as here:

As you can see, the media doesn't really take the full screen, just how much it needs. It's also not exactly centered.

Another example, where the media is very much not centered and not taking full screen:

Of course, if the aspect ratio of the media is more similar to the one of the device, we could have things different:

The docs say that it's supposed to be "predictable and consistent" , saying "Your media view asset should be the same size for every ad request on the same device".

How can I make it the same size if the media aspect ratio can change all the time, causing bad user experience as you can see even on Admob's sample... Users can even change orientation and size of the display (such as foldable, not to mention Android on PC).

Rewarded ads are considered full screen (and rewarded interstitials, and interstitials), and yet they don't always have the media taking the whole screen, and their media isn't fixed in size or predictable either, so why full screen native ads have this weird requirement...

[linikerruan3-gif]

@https://github.com/googleads/googleads-Duplicate of #956 mobile-android-examples/issues/934

[NVentimiglia]

@AndroidDeveloperLB

Understand, we will clarify the docs. As far as keeping the size the same, it is on a per device basis. The Ad presentation should be generally the same per app, and the same per device. It is understood that things will have minor differences between devices.

[AndroidDeveloperLB]

@NVentimiglia You need to define what you mean. This time you use the term "Ad presentation ", when the docs talk about a real View that we get to use, called MediaView.
If it's about the MediaView, that's impossible to have the same size. Even the simple full-screen can't be always the same size for the same device. Users can change orientation, change Activity size by window-split or use foldable phones.
And, as I mentioned, it doesn't always make sense to have it really full screen, because it almost never gets a nice fit to the screen due to different aspect ratio compared to the screen.
And, even if they are equal in aspect ratio, it doesn't give us any freedom of having the various UI components around, only on top of the video/image, which makes things not nicely shown.

If we have the same freedom as creating full-screen-native-ads similar to what's shown on the various full screen ads ( interstitial, rewarded ads, rewarded interstitial), that would be great, meaning that we get to choose the size&position of the MediaView based on what we got (the ad data, including the aspect ratio of the image/video) and what we have (the various screen considerations).
We should be able to choose which layout would match the current situation nicely, just as Admob does with the various full-screen ads which I don't think their image/video ever really fill the screen 100%.

Here, more examples:

Portrait media on portrait screen:

You can see that the media is smaller, so we can have UI components around, despite it being portrait matching the display

[NVentimiglia]

I am confused. I think we are moving well off of the original goal of this issue to fix the edge-to-edge overlap, and to be honest I am not sure what we are talking about.

If it's about the MediaView, that's impossible to have the same size. Even the simple full-screen can't be always the same size for the same device.

For instance, this makes no sense to me. I understand its difficult to maintain the size of a MediaView on different devices, but on the same device where the screen size is known?