Now in Android #109
Welcome to episode 109 of Now in Android: your ongoing guide to what’s new and notable in the world of Android development.
In this episode, we’ll cover The Fourth Beta of Android 15, Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, Google Play’s new Collections feature and security enhancements, inspirational stories from #WeArePlay series and lots of stable AndroidX releases.
Most of the content of this post is available in the form of a video or podcast, so feel free to watch or listen rather than read on. (Or do all three to help you remember! There won’t be a quiz.)
The Fourth Beta of Android 15 🧑💻
Android 15 Beta 4, the final update in the beta release cycle, is now available. This release brings stability and final APIs for developers to test and integrate into their apps.
The blog covers the removal of the legacy PNG-based emoji font, which means some devices will only have the vector-based COLRv1 file. Android 15 also introduces several new features that you can take advantage of, including predictive back animations, Low Light Boost for improved low-light photography, a variable font for CJK languages, insights into app startup, screen recording detection, partial screen sharing, linking specific views with Credential Manager requests, edge-to-edge drawing by default, and generated previews for app widget providers.
You are encouraged to test your apps, libraries, tools, and game engines for compatibility with Android 15 and update any necessary SDKs.
Android Developers blog 📝
Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event unveiled the latest foldables, wearables, and more, including the Galaxy Z Fold6, Z Flip6, Galaxy Watch7, and Watch Ultra. Maru shares how to get your apps ready for the latest Android devices, how you can prepare your app for Wear OS 5, and how to build adaptive apps that scale across mobile, tablets, foldables and more!
Google announced Android Device Streaming in open beta at Google I/O 2024, enabling you to test your apps on physical devices in Google data centers. Grant & Adarsh share that Android Device Streaming is now expanding its partnership with device manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Oppo, allowing you to access even more physical devices directly in Android Studio using OmniLab for secure connections.
Cullen discusses how Google Play’s new Collections feature organizes app content into categories, allowing users to access it from a Play Store widget. You can use the Engage SDK to push personalized content to Collections, requiring minimal effort. Top apps like Amazon Prime Video and Spotify have already integrated with the Engage SDK.
Bessie and Chris introduce the Android Application Security Knowledge Base (AAKB) — a repository of common code issues, with remediation examples and explanations for implementing specific code patterns. Android Studio has updated its security lint checks to include links to relevant articles from AAKB, providing context for vulnerable code snippets.
Robbie shares stories from people creating apps and games in the U.S, highlighting additional emerging businesses on Google Play. These stories demonstrate the diverse and innovative nature of the app and game industry in the United States.
Robbie also highlights Amanita Design, founded by Jakub in Prague, that creates visually stunning and narratively rich games inspired by Czech landscapes and folklore. Their unique approach has earned worldwide recognition.
Android Developers Backstage🎙️
On Android Developers Backstage Episode 208: “Micro optimizations”, Tor and Romain chat about micro optimizations and writing custom tools such as Kotlin Explorer that can help detect code inefficiencies. They also discuss the cost of using Companion objects, making Hash maps more performant and many more tips to optimize your app. Listen to it in podcast or youtube format.
Videos💡
How to use nested scrolling in Compose, for a seemingly complex coordination between multiple components on a single scroll.
How to use the Pager composable, configuration parameters such as controlling the fling distance, and tying into the PagerState to create animations.
Learn about Lookahead layout system — a new powerful feature of Compose. Using this new layouting mechanism, we can create powerful layouts that animate fluidly.
Learn how AndroidX Lifecycle libraries (ViewModel, Lifecycle Runtime, and Compose support) were converted to Kotlin multi-platform (KMP), the API challenges and the process.
AndroidX Releases 🚀
There were a lot of stable releases.
For Wear apps check out stable Wear ProtoLayout 1.2.0 and Wear Tiles 1.4.0.
For Games apps there are several releases including Games-Activity 3.0.5, Games-Text-Input 3.0.4, Games-Performance-Tuner 2.0.0 and Games-Frame-Pacing 2.1.2
Several libraries include additional Kotlin Multiplatform targets: Paging Version 3.3.2, Annotation 1.8.2
And a lot of other stable releases dropped: Media 1.4.0, Collection 1.4.3, Transition 1.5.1, Lifecycle 2.8.4, Fragment 1.8.2, Annotation 1.8.2, Activity 1.9.1, WorkManager Version 2.9.1, Compose Compiler 1.5.15
Now then… 👋
That’s it for this week with Android 15 Beta 4, Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, Google Play’s new Collections feature and security enhancements, inspirational stories from #WeArePlay series and lots of stable AndroidX releases.
Check back soon for your next update from the Android developer universe! 💫
