Device-specific bid modifiers coming to AdWords API

Historically, device-specific bid modifiers were supported only for HighEndMobile, and were not allowed on other Platforms. Now, as part of our mobile-first initiative, we're extending this functionality to include support for these bid modifiers for all platforms.

All versions of the API currently permit bid modifiers for Desktop and Tablet criteria to be returned and modified in requests for test accounts only, allowing you to manage these bid modifiers programmatically. We will be rolling out this feature to live accounts for all versions over the coming weeks. These bid modifiers will be allowed on both the campaign and the ad group level.

If you rely on fetching bid modifier information in your app, these upcoming changes will affect you. Once device-specific bid modifiers launch on the web interface, users of the web interface may add them and they will be returned when making requests with the API. This can be particularly impactful if your application has made assumptions that the Desktop bid is a static, base bid, which is no longer the case.

If you have any questions about this change, or other questions about the AdWords API, contact us via the forum.