Welcome to Now in Android, your ongoing guide to what’s new and notable in the world of Android development.
Now in Android is also offered as a video and podcast.
We released Android 13 for TV, bringing new APIs to the big screen, including improvements to the AudioManager API, the ability for users to change the default resolution and refresh rate on supported HDMI source devices, surfacing of HDMI state changes in the MediaSession lifecycle, support for different keyboard layouts in the InputDevice API, an audio descriptions API in AccessibilityManager to query user preferences, and all of the other improvements Android 13 brings.
Starting in May 2023, Google TV and Android TV will be requiring archivable Android App Bundles to help users save their typically limited TV device storage. Archiving reclaims around 60% of app storage, allowing users to keep more apps on their TV using the built-in quick archive/unarchive user interface. Apps that have not transitioned in time may be hidden from TV devices.
We released Compose for Wear OS 1.1, our modern declarative UI toolkit to help you build beautiful, responsive apps for Wear OS. The release includes new functionality such as an Outlined style for Chips and Buttons, the ability to modify shapes for Chip/ToggleChip and Button/ToggleButton components using new function overloads, an experimental placeholder API, the scrollAway modifier, additional parameters in CurvedTextStyle, user experience refinements, TalkBack support improvements, and better overall accessibility.
We shared details so you can prepare for the incremental rollout early next year of the initial Privacy Sandbox Beta, a project with the goal of bringing Android new, more private advertising solutions. The post has more on how to enroll to access the Privacy Preserving APIs, how to participate in the Beta program, and how to register your interest in the closed SDK Runtime beta.
We introduced CameraViewfinder, a new Jetpack Library artifact designed to work with your existing Camera2 codebase that allows you to quickly implement camera previews with minimal effort. It uses either a TextureView or SurfaceView to display the camera feed, correcting the aspect ratio, scale, and rotation to accurately display the viewfinder. The post covers how to use CameraViewfinder, including how to combine it with the Jetpack WindowManager library to provide unique experiences on foldable devices.
We released the Android Architecture Starter Templates, a new project on GitHub that gets you started quickly with a project that follows our recently released Architecture recommendations — whether you are building a new app or just a quick experiment. We’re delivering them separately from Android Studio so they will always reflect the latest dependencies to get you started as quickly as possible.
We had four graphics-focused articles covering RenderEffect, RenderNode, and AGSL, the Android Graphics Shading Language.
Chet began with covering how to use the BlurEffect introduced with Android 12, followed by an introduction to Android 13’s AGSL and how to write pixel shaders that work within Android’s Canvas drawing system. The next article focused on how to leverage the power of RenderNode. Rebecca then covered how to animate ImageVectors and apply AGSL effects in Compose.
Speaking of Compose, Alejandra covered using Variable fonts in Compose 1.3, while Ataul talked about the adventure he and Sara had in Making a Game with Compose Canvas on Wear OS. Ben then covered when and where to use the derivedStateOf API, and Sagar explained how to make largely View based apps that are integrating Jetpack Compose faster using the App Startup library and custom baseline profiles.
Neelansh did a two part series covering Per-App Language Preferences, where Part 1 explains how to integrate the API into your app using the AndroidX AppCompat library, while Part 2 covers popular apps that are using the API and how it benefits them.
Patrick then wrote tips to help scale made-for-mobile apps to ChromeOS, many of which apply to adapting your app for any large-screen Android device.
In the latest Notes from Google Play, Purnima covered Play features such as Custom Store Listings and Promotional content cards to help grow your business, new tools, guidance, and courses to help your app enter new markets, ways in which Play is supporting bringing your app to more devices, and new features and programs to help you navigate trust and safety on Google Play including the expanded Developer Helpline program and Strike Removal program.
Aditya sat down for a “virtual coffee” with Haemin Yim, founder and CEO of Korea’s Creatrip, to discuss starting on the web, setting up the company for global reach, and tips for startups looking to grow. We also had two episodes of #WeArePlay, with the first covering the developer journeys of 4 game creators from around the world and the second introducing the developers behind Stamurai Speech Therapy, and their app that helps people with speech disorders.
My video on how to Migrate your apps to Android 13 dropped on YouTube, covering almost everything that you’ll need to know to make your app compatible with, target, and take advantage of Android 13.
Google Play released videos on Improving user onboarding for Google Play, Embracing hybrid monetization as well as Boosting user activation and commitment for app growth, thinking about accessibility and What can make or break someone’s user experience?, and the latest Google Play policy updates.
Next, the Game Show covered Google Play games for PC and how you can use it to bring your Android game onto the PCs of Windows gamers.
Finally we shared Tips and tricks for a great Health Connect integration to help you read and write health and fitness data as well as onboard new users.
It’s been relatively quiet in the world of AndroidX, but in Hilt 1.1 Alpha 1 the hiltViewModel() API takes an optional key parameter that allows you to get multiple instances of the same ViewModel type using different keys, while Wear Compose 1.2 Alpha 1 had a bunch of bug fixes, API changes, and an update to the experimental Placeholder functionality.
In Episode 192 of Android Developers Backstage Romain and Chet geeked out about graphics, talking about paths, Bézier curves, morphing, and more.
That’s it for this week and for 2022 with Android 13 for TV and the Archivable App Bundle Requirement, Compose for Wear OS 1.1, the Android Privacy Sandbox Beta, Camera Viewfinder, Architecture Templates, Shaders and Graphics, Google Play, Jetpack Compose, and more! Come back here next year for another update from the Android developer universe.
