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Jetpack Compose comes to Android TV, Compose Material 3 reaches stable
If you're a developer, you probably know what Jetpack Compose is. Material 3 Stable is now here, along with Compose for Android TV.
Jetpack Compose is a declarative UI engine written in Kotlin that aims to replace or be a viable alternative for classic imperative UI engines, like Android’s XML layouts. In essence, Jetpack Compose is a powerful code-only layout engine that can make UI implementation a lot easier. It was first released in alpha in August last year, followed by a beta release in February this year with a lot more additions. Now, at Google's Android Developer Summit, the company has announced that Compose is coming to Android TV. Even better is that Material 3 is now in Stable, meaning that you can use it to build your apps with confidence.
CTS-D is a new Compatibility Test Suite module with tests submitted by Android app developers
In an attempt to give app developers a chance to share their unique perspectives on device compatibility issues, Google has introduced the new CTS-D module.
As part of the Android Compatibility Program, Google gives smartphone OEMs access to a Compatibility Test Suite (CTS). The suite includes a collection of over two million test cases that OEMs use to weed out bugs early in the smartphone development process so that users get a consistent app experience across various devices. However, the CTS mostly includes tests written by Android engineers with little input from app developers. To give app developers a chance to share their "unique perspectives on actual device compatibility issues," Google has now introduced CTS-D.
Google's 'Now in Android' app aims to help app developers build better apps
Google has released a new 'Now in Android' app to help app developers build better apps. Check it out by following the link in the post.
At its I/O developer conference this year, Google showcased a new 'Now in Android' app for developers. The app aims to help developers stay up to date with all areas of Android development and showcase best practices, opinionated designs, and solutions to complex real-world problems that other sample apps don't handle.
Google announces Flutter 3, now with macOS and Linux desktop support
Google has announced Flutter 3 at this year's Google I/O, and it features macOS and Linux support, along with Material Design 3.
Google created Flutter a number of years ago, with the aim to make a cross-platform software framework. Flutter's biggest strength is that it can be used to build applications for Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, macOS, and even the web, and all from the same shared codebase. While building apps for Windows received stable support back in February, both macOS and Linux were still only in beta. Now that's changing, as Google has announced Flutter 3 at this year's Google I/O, complete with stable support for building apps for macOS and Linux.
Android Studio Electric Eel Canary brings Live Edit to the Compose Preview
At its I/O Developer Conference today, Google announced a new Canary release for Android Studio codenamed Electric Eel. Download from the link in the post.
After months of testing on the Canary channel, Google finally graduated Android Studio Dolphin to the beta channel at its I/O Developer Conference today. The beta release packs various Jetpack Compose features and improvements, new features for the Wear OS emulator, and a couple of additional developer tools. Along with the Dolphin beta release, Google has rolled out the first Android Studio Electric Eel Canary release. It too brings a host of new features and improvements. In this post, we'll take a look at all the new features in the latest Canary release.
Android Studio Dolphin is now available in beta
At its I/O Developer Conference today, Google announced that its graduating Android Studio Dolphin to the beta channel. Download from the link in the post.
Android Studio Dolphin has been in Canary for a while now. At its I/O Developer Conference today, Google has finally graduated it to the beta channel and introduced a new release, codenamed Electric Eel, on the Canary channel. Both the latest beta and Canary releases of Android Studio bring along a host of new features, like the ability to view Compose animations in Animation Preview, resize the emulator for large-screen devices, pair, and control Wear OS emulators and launch tiles, watch faces, etc. directly from Android Studio, and more. In this post, we'll take a look at all that's new in the latest beta release.
Spotify open-sources its Ruler tool to help app devs analyze their app sizes
Spotify has open-sourced its Ruler tool to help app developers analyze their app sizes. It's an easy way to identify large dependencies.
When installing apps on the Google Play Store, users typically prefer smaller app sizes. That may be because of limited storage space or limited download bandwidth, or some users even just prefer a quicker install. Nevertheless, Spotify has a tool called "Ruler" that it uses to measure and analyze the size of its Android apps for the purposes of figuring out how to shrink them down. Now the company is making that tool open-source and free to use for any developer that wants to use it.
Google releases Jetpack Glance Alpha for super-easy widget development
Google is bringing Jetpack Compose to Android app widgets, with the first Alpha release of Jetpack Glance.
Jetpack Compose makes it possible to create interfaces for Android apps without dealing with lengthy XML files and other clunky resources. Instead, it allows developers to create interface elements in Kotlin code (alongside the rest of the app's code), with simpler APIs and full Material Design support. Now Google is bringing that same ease of use to widgets, with the introduction of Jetpack Glance Alpha.
Android is shifting to an "upstream first" development model for new Linux kernel features
Google plans to switch to an "upstream first" development model for Linux kernel features in Android starting in 2023. Read on to learn more.
When you see the words "Android" and "fragmentation" in the same sentence, your mind probably immediately jumps to the Android version distribution chart. There are a few entities that most people point their fingers at when complaining that Android OS updates are slow to roll out across the board, but there's only so much Google can do to force OEMs to develop and roll out updates more quickly. What Google can do, however, is reduce the development time and thus the cost of rolling out updates.
Android Studio 4.2 brings IntelliJ upgrade, Safe Args support, and more
Android Studio 4.2 is now available on the stable channel. The update brings an IntelliJ platform update, Safe Args support, and much more.
In October last year, Google rolled out Android Studio 4.1 with support for foldables in the Android Emulator, a few style updates, TensorFlow Lite enhancements, and more. Over the last few months, the company has been working on the next major Android Studio update, and it's now finally available on the stable channel.
Easily integrate Huawei Mobile Services into your Unity game with the HMS Unity Plugin!
If you are looking to integrate Huawei Mobile Services into your Unity game, this HMS Unity plugin will let you easily integrate HMS. Read on for more!
Huawei Mobile Services, or HMS, is Huawei’s alternative to GMS, consisting of user-facing apps as well as core background services. The idea behind Huawei Mobile Services is to provide an experience that is consistent across devices and independent of the platform update. HMS Ecosystem has seen its monthly average users increase from 420 Million globally in July 2018 to a huge 600 Million by December 2019, while developers registered on this platform grew from 450,000 to 1.3 million in the same time period, and HMS Core app integration grew from 20,000 apps to 55,000 apps. According to additional figures revealed by Huawei as of December 2019, HMS Core has a global reach of 600 Million users in more than 170 countries (including China).
Redmi Note 8 Development Update: POSP and Pixel Experience Custom ROM, Custom Kernel, and TWRP released
Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 8 back in August this year. Here's an update on the third-party development of the device so far.
Xiaomi's Redmi Note series is arguably one of the most successful product lineups to come out of the company's stables. The lower mid-range devices offer reasonable specifications at a very competitive price and the recently launched Redmi Note 8 series is no different. The Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro were launched in China back in August this year and they made their way to the European market shortly thereafter. In order to promote third-party development for the devices, Xiaomi then released kernel sources for the two devices in September. As expected, development has been on high-gear for both the devices on our forums. Here's an update on everything new for the Redmi Note 8 that you can get right away:
TWRP lead explains why it'll take time for the custom recovery to support Android 10
TWRP lead and XDA Senior Recognized Developer Dees_Troy has highlighted some of the challenges with Android 10 support for the custom recovery. Read on!
Dessert name or not, Android 10 is the flavor of the season. Several flagships from prominent OEMs have received their official updates, while several others have received a taste of the new OS version thanks to Android 10 custom ROMs. Google is also very happy with Android 10's adoption rate, made possible because of Project Treble and the whole host of other changes made over the years. Unfortunately, while Android 10 brings with itself its own joys, it also makes a few things difficult for custom recoveries like TWRP. TWRP lead developer and XDA Senior Recognized Developer Dees_Troy has highlighted some of the issues that the recovery faces on its way to officially support Android 10.
[Update: First game announced] POCO's Game Development Academy will help a small team make an Android game
Xiaomi's new sub-brand has announced what they're calling the POCO Game Development Academy to create mobile games with a small team.
While the build material (and quality) of the Xiaomi POCO F1 may be questionable, the phone has certainly grabbed the attention of us frugal customers in the Android community. The company seems to be doing something similar to what OnePlus did with the release of their first phone. So far, it has allowed them to sell over 700,000 units within the first 3 months of release. Now, Xiaomi's new sub-brand has announced what they're calling the POCO Game Development Academy to create mobile games.
Google is finally working on making Android's share menu faster
Depending on how many apps you have, the Android share menu can be very slow. We have just learned the company is working on redesigning the system.
Google only has so much time to work on new features for their upcoming version of Android each year, which means many feel their voices aren't being heard. They have to prioritize certain features from year to year which has led to granular permission control, a lot of work on how Android manages background tasks (to preserve battery life), and more. One area where people feel that Google has been neglecting is Android's share menu. Depending on how many apps you have installed, this share menu can be very slow and lead to a lot of frustrations. Google has not ignored this issue though and we have just learned that the company is working on redesigning the system with a completely different underlying data model.
Google announces improvements to App Bundles, Instant Apps, and app management tools
At Playtime 2018, Google announced a new features in Google Play including improvements to App Bundles, Instant Apps, app management tools, and more.
Each year, Google hosts an invitation-only event called Playtime. Google invites selected developers of apps and games from the Play Store to the event to share the latest features and tips to improve their apps. At this year's event, Google announced updates to the Android App Bundle, Google Play Instant, and the Google Play Console.
How to Locally Capture a System Trace on Android Pie
systrace is a powerful tool that collects timing information from processes running on Android. Here's how to capture a system trace on Android Pie.
Tracing is an invaluable tool that enables developers to understand the impact that various changes have on a system and can provide clues to identify the root cause of problems.
Google Photos Library API now available, lets you integrate Photos with your app
Google is opening a program that will allow developers to tap into the awesomeness of Google Photos for their own apps with a new Library API.
Google Photos is one of the company's best products. It works extremely well, is easy to use, and has very powerful features. The service has only gotten better over time. Now, Google is opening a program that will allow developers to tap into the awesomeness of Google Photos for their own apps.
[Update: Not leaked] Source code for DexGuard, commercial anti-piracy software, leaks online
The source code for Android application obfuscator DexGuard has had its source code leak online on GitHub. What does that exactly mean?
DexGuard is a popular commercial anti-piracy software written by Guardsquare which can help obfuscate an APK file. It's pretty easy to decompile an Android app and take a look at its internal workings, but obfuscation programs such as DexGuard make that pretty difficult. The software protects applications from reverse engineering attacks too, to prevent users from figuring out how the app does exactly what it does. This, in turn, prevents piracy, as it makes it a lot harder for attackers to figure out how to bypass anti-piracy checks. However, an older version of DexGuard has had its source code leaked on GitHub.
Google bans cryptocurrency miners, apps to sell guns, and more from the Play Store
Google has banned cryptocurrency miners, applications to sell guns, and a whole lot more with new Google Play Store guidelines.
Google is beginning to take a stronger stance on what can and can't be on the Google Play Store. Following up on a recent ban on Fake ID applications and gambling, a number of others have now been banned too. Cryptocurrency miners, applications to sell guns, and a whole lot more have been barred from the store.