Android Developers Blog

Posted by Raman Tenneti , AOSP Software Engineer and Ally Sillins , AOSP Program Manager When we started the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) 10 years ago, we included some basic applications in the AOSP build for three main purposes: to provide a usable set of applications for someone building an Android device from our AOSP to serve as a demonstration for the nascent Android app developer community, showcasing how they should build some of these applications to, as part of the platform, provide functionality to other Android applications that would interact with them through the standard Android APIs like the common intents However, as the Android ecosystem has matured over time, we've noticed a healthy growth of alternative applications - both as open source and proprietary implementations - developed by the developer community. These alternative applications are not only capable to serve the first two purposes, but often times showcase richer set of features demonstrating ...

Posted by Vlad Radu, Product Manager and Nicholas Lativy, Software Engineer The Google Play Developer API allows you to automate your in-app billing and app distribution workflows. At Google I/O '18, we introduced version 3 of the API, which allows you to transactionally start, manage, and halt staged releases on all tracks , through production, open testing, closed testing (including the new additional testing tracks ), and internal testing. Updating from versions 1 and 2 to the latest version 3 In addition to these new features, version 3 also supports all the functionality of previous versions, improving and simplifying how you manage workflows. Starting December 1, 2019 , versions 1 and 2 of the Google Play Developer API will no longer be available so you need to update to version 3 ahead of this date. Migrating to version 3 If you use the Google Play API client libraries (available for Java , Python , and other popular languages), we recommend upgrading to their latest versi...

Posted by Vlad Radu, Product Manager and Nicholas Lativy, Software Engineer The Google Play Developer API allows you to automate your in-app billing and app distribution workflows. At Google I/O ‘18, we introduced version 3 of the API, which allows you to transactionally start, manage, and halt staged releases on all tracks , through production, open testing, closed testing (including the new additional testing tracks ), and internal testing. Updating from versions 1 and 2 to the latest version 3 In addition to these new features, version 3 also supports all the functionality of previous versions, improving and simplifying how you manage workflows. Starting December 1, 2019 , versions 1 and 2 of the Google Play Developer API will no longer be available so you need to update to version 3 ahead of this date. Migrating to version 3 If you use the Google Play API client libraries (available for Java , Python , and other popular languages), we recommend upgrading to their latest versions,...

Posted by Wojtek Kaliciński, Developer Advocate, Android Last year, we launched Android App Bundles and Google Play's Dynamic Delivery to introduce modular development, reduce app size and streamline the release process. Since then, we've seen developers quickly adopt this new app model in over 60,000 production apps. We've been excited to see developers experience significant app size savings and reductions in the time needed to manage each release, and have documented these benefits in case studies with Duolingo and redBus . Thank you to everyone who took the time to give us feedback on our initial launch. We're always open to new ideas, and today, we're happy to announce some new improvements based on your suggestions: A new additional languages install API , which supports in-app language pickers A streamlined publishing process for instant-enabled app bundles A new enrollment option for app signing by Google Play The ability to permanently uninstall ...

Posted by Kacey Fahey, Developer Marketing, Google Play & Android We're excited to host the Google Mobile Developer Day at Game Developers Conference 2019. We are taking this opportunity to share best practices and our plans to help your games businesses, which are fuelling incredible growth in the global mobile games market. According to Newzoo, mobile games revenue is projected to account for nearly 60% of global games revenue by 2021. The drivers of this growth come in many forms, including more developers building great games, new game styles blurring the lines of traditional genres, and the explosion of gaming in emerging markets - most notably in India. Image Source: GamesIndustry.biz To support your growth, Google is focused on improving the game development experience on Android. We are investing in tools to give you better insights into what is happening on devices, as well as in people and teams to address your feedback about the development process, graphics, multipl...

Posted by Steve Suppe, Product Manager, Google Play As part of our focus and dedication to improving the Google Play Store experience for our users, we are introducing new design specifications for your app icons. Left to right: original icon, new icon (example), original icon in legacy mode As of early April, you will be able to upload new icons to the Google Play Console and confirm you are compliant with the new specification. Original icons are still accepted in the Google Play Store during this time. As of May 1st, developers will no longer be able to upload icons in the Play Console which do not meet the new specifications, although existing original icons in the Google Play Store during this period can remain unchanged. By June 24, we require you to: Update your icon to the new specification . Upload your icon to Play Console. Confirm in Play Console that your icon meets the new specification. We highly recommend that you update your icons and confirm they meet the new...

Posted by Jen Chai, Product Manager Location data can deliver amazing, rich mobile experiences for users on Android such as finding a restaurant nearby, tracking the distance of a run, and getting turn-by-turn directions as you drive. Location is also one of the most sensitive types of personal information for a user. We want to give users simple, easy-to-understand controls for what data they are providing to apps, and yesterday, we announced in Android Q that we are giving users more control over location permissions. We are delighted by the innovative location experiences you provide to users through your apps, and we want to make this transition as straightforward for you as possible. This post dives deeper into the location permission changes in Q, what it may mean for your app, and how to get started with any updates needed. Previously, a user had a single control to allow or deny an app access to device location, which covered location usage by the app both while it was in use ...

Posted by Ian Lake, Software Engineering Lead & Jisha Abubaker, Product Manager Cohesive tooling and guidance for implementing predictable in-app navigation Today we're happy to announce the stable release of the Android Jetpack Navigation component. The Jetpack Navigation component's suite of libraries , tooling and guidance provides a robust, complete navigation framework, freeing you from the challenges of implementing navigation yourself and giving you certainty that all edge cases are handled correctly. With the Jetpack Navigation component you can: Handle basic user actions like Up & Back buttons so that they work consistently across devices and screens. Allow users to land on any part of your app via deep links and build consistent and predictable navigation within your app. Improve type safety of arguments passed from one screen to another, decreasing the chances of runtime crashes as users navigate in your app. Add navigation experiences like navigation d...

Posted by Dave Burke, VP of Engineering In 2019, mobile innovation is stronger than ever, with new technologies from 5G to edge to edge displays and even foldable screens. Android is right at the center of this innovation cycle , and thanks to the broad ecosystem of partners across billions of devices, Android's helping push the boundaries of hardware and software bringing new experiences and capabilities to users. As the mobile ecosystem evolves, Android is focused on helping users take advantage of the latest innovations, while making sure users' security and privacy are always a top priority. Building on top of efforts like Google Play Protect and runtime permissions, Android Q brings a number of additional privacy and security features for users, as well as enhancements for foldables, new APIs for connectivity, new media codecs and camera capabilities, NNAPI extensions, Vulkan 1.1 support, faster app startup, and more. Today we're releasing Beta 1 of Android Q for early...

Posted by Patricia Correa, Director, Platforms & Ecosystems Developer Marketing Google Play empowers game developers of all sizes to engage and delight people everywhere, and build successful businesses too. We are inspired by the passion and creativity we see from the indie games community, and, over the past few years, we've invested in and nurtured indie games developers around the world, helping them express their unique voice and bring ideas to life. This year, we've put together several initiatives to help the indie community. Indie Games Showcase For indie developers who are constantly pushing the boundaries of storytelling, visual excellence, and creativity in mobile we are announcing today the Indie Games Showcase , an international competition for games studios from Europe*, South Korea and Japan. Those of you who meet the eligibility criteria (as outlined below) can enter your game for a chance to win several prizes, including: A paid trip and accommodation to t...