APP DEVELOPMENT Posts on XDA

CTS-D is a new Compatibility Test Suite module with tests submitted by Android app developers

CTS-D is a new Compatibility Test Suite module with tests submitted by Android app developers

June 24, 2022
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...
Google’s ‘Now in Android’ app aims to help app developers build better apps

Google’s ‘Now in Android’ app aims to help app developers build better apps

May 19, 2022
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. The first alpha release of...
Android Studio Electric Eel Canary brings Live Edit to the Compose Preview

Android Studio Electric Eel Canary brings Live Edit to the Compose Preview

May 11, 2022
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...
Android Studio Dolphin is now available in beta

Android Studio Dolphin is now available in beta

May 11, 2022
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,...
Spotify open-sources its Ruler tool to help app devs analyze their app sizes

Spotify open-sources its Ruler tool to help app devs analyze their app sizes

February 15, 2022
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...
Google releases Jetpack Glance Alpha for super-easy widget development

Google releases Jetpack Glance Alpha for super-easy widget development

December 16, 2021
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...
Qualcomm announces Snapdragon Spaces to help developers create immersive AR experiences

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon Spaces to help developers create immersive AR experiences

November 9, 2021
While augmented reality (AR) headsets have improved significantly over the last couple of years, great augmented reality experiences are still hard to come by. Qualcomm aims to address that with Snapdragon Spaces -- a new platform to help developers create immersive AR experiences. With Snapdragon Spaces, Qualcomm gives developers all the tools required to build immersive...
Google aims to make app development easier for large-screen devices

Google aims to make app development easier for large-screen devices

October 27, 2021
It's a well-known fact that the Android experience on large-screen devices is far from perfect. Those who have used an Android tablet in the last few years would agree that Android doesn't scale well on large displays. UI elements make poor use of all the extra screen real estate, and most apps are not optimized...
Advanced Android Development: How to bypass the hidden API blacklist

Advanced Android Development: How to bypass the hidden API blacklist

October 8, 2021
Way back in 2018, Google released Android Pie. Among the UI changes and new features, there were also some developer-side changes. Those changes included new APIs, bugfixes for existing APIs, and also restrictions on access to hidden APIs. Luckily though, there are ways to get around those restrictions. Before I get into how to bypass the...
Advanced Android Development: Elevate app permissions using Shizuku

Advanced Android Development: Elevate app permissions using Shizuku

October 7, 2021
There are a lot of reasons the permissions normally granted to your app might not be enough. Maybe you're like me and enjoy creating hacky apps that abuse the Android API. Some of the APIs I use are locked behind special permissions. Sometimes only the shell user (ADB) or system can access them. There's a...
Android Studio 4.2 brings IntelliJ upgrade, Safe Args support, and more

Android Studio 4.2 brings IntelliJ upgrade, Safe Args support, and more

May 6, 2021
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. Android Studio 4.2...
Developers can now start building Windows apps with Flutter

Developers can now start building Windows apps with Flutter

September 24, 2020
Flutter is an open-source app development framework made by Google. One of its main goals is to make developing for multiple platforms easier, by allowing developers to share a single codebase across multiple targets. Up until now, you could use Flutter to build a unified application for Android, iOS, macOS, Linux, and the web. If...