Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 may also get Fortnite Mobile on Android exclusively

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The massively popular free-to-play battle royale game ‘Fortnite’ will soon launch on Android. The game is widely expected to launch as a 30-day exclusive on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 but could stay a Samsung Galaxy exclusive for up to an additional 3 months. Thus, owners of the Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S9, and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 should expect to be able to play the game 30 days after the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launch. Owners of the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 may not have to wait 30 days after the Galaxy Note 9 launch to enjoy Fortnite Mobile on Android, however. XDA-Developers has obtained access to the Fortnite Mobile on Android installer APK which suggests that the game will not only be a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 exclusive but may also initially be available on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4.

The APK with the package name “com.epicgames.fortnite” was first discovered by XDA Junior Member thesbros, our resident expert at data-mining. Decompilation and analysis of the APK were done in collaboration with XDA Recognized Developer Quinny899, also known as Kieron Quinn of Mighty Quinn Apps. The APK file we obtained is the installer for Fortnite version 5.20 which will go live on other platforms this week. The APK and all required Fortnite battle royale data can be downloaded and installed, but the game will not run on any accounts that haven’t been whitelisted by Epic Games. Regardless, the APK file itself provides some useful information ahead of the game’s launch on Android.

Fortnite Mobile on Android – Available for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4?

The game has several checks in place such as for the mobile GPU, manufacturer, and model to decide whether the device should be allowed to run the game. While Samsung Galaxy flagship devices post-Galaxy S7 are able to launch the game’s main activity, these devices can’t actually play the game just yet. A method which checks the device’s brand, code-name, and feature-set and matches it against either the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 or Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 prevents these other Samsung devices from playing the game, it seems.

As shown in the screenshot showing code from the decompiled application, the method checks the device’s system properties to see if all the following are true:

ro.vendor.product.device starts with “gts4l”

starts with “gts4l” ro.vendor.product.brand is “samsung”

is “samsung” com.sec.feature.spen_usp is defined as an Android feature. This feature lets any Android app know that the device supports Samsung’s S Pen.

Thus, the method checks if the device is a Samsung-branded device with a code-name that starts with “gts4l.” The devices with those code-names are the many variants of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. Lastly, the method checks for the existence of the S Pen. This is either an extra check to make it harder for people to trick Fortnite into running on their device, or it’s a way for Epic Games to confirm the presence of the S Pen and activate more features. Interestingly, this method checks for the existence of the standard S Pen while the method we uncovered that checks for the existence of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 checks for the new Bluetooth-enabled S Pen.

This is the first time we’re hearing that Fortnite Mobile on Android could also launch on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 along with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The Galaxy Tab S4 was quietly announced last week after the announcement was moved forward to not oversaturate the upcoming Samsung Unpacked event. Our own source did not mention whether the Galaxy Tab S4 would support Fortnite Mobile at launch, but we’re told that our source was not briefed on the Fortnite launch itself but rather only on the Galaxy Note 9 launch.

The newly announced Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 sports the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip and is the first Samsung tablet to support Samsung DeX. It also features an iris scanner and S Pen support. For more information on the tablet such as the full specification list and the introduction video, you can visit our article on its announcement. Stay tuned to XDA as we bring you more information from the Fortnite Mobile on Android APK leak. Here are related articles if you’re interested: