Android Developers Blog

Posted by Chris Sells, Benjamin Poiesz, Karen Ng, Product Management, Android Developer Tools Today we're excited to introduce Android Jetpack, the next generation of components, tools and architectural guidance to accelerate your Android app development. Android Jetpack was inspired by the Support Library, a set of components to make it easy to take advantage of new Android features while maintaining backwards compatibility; it's currently used by 99% of every app in the Play Store. Following on that success, we introduced the Architecture Components , designed to make it easier to deal with data in the face of changes and the complications of the app lifecycle. Since we introduced those components at I/O just one year ago, an overwhelming number of you have adopted them. Companies such as LinkedIn, Zillow and iHeartRadio are seeing fewer bugs, higher testability and more time to focus on what makes their app unique. The Android developer community has been clear -- not o...

Posted By Dave Burke, VP of Engineering Earlier today we unveiled a beta version of Android P, the next release of Android. Android P puts AI at the core of the operating system and focuses on intelligent and simple experiences. You can read more about the new user features here . For developers, Android P beta offers a range of ways to take advantage of these new smarts, especially when it comes to increasing engagement with your apps. You can get Android P beta on Pixel devices by enrolling here . And thanks to Project Treble , you can now get the beta on top devices from our partners as well -- Essential, Nokia, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, and Xiaomi, with others on the way. Visit android.com/beta for the full list of devices, and details on how to get Android P beta on your device. To get started developing with Android P beta, visit developer.android.com/preview . A smarter smartphone, with machine learning at the core Android P makes a smartphone smarter, helping it learn from and...

Posted by Alan Viverette ( /u/alanviverette ), Kathy Kam ( @kathykam ) , Lukas Bergstrom ( @lukasb ) Today, we launch an early preview of the new Android extension libraries (AndroidX) which represents a new era for the Support Library. Please preview the change and give us your feedback. Since this is an early preview, we do not recommend trying this on any production projects as there are some known issues . The Support Library started over 7+ years ago to provide backwards compatibility to framework APIs. Over the years, the library has grown to include device-specific UX, debugging, testing and other utilities. The adoption of the Support Library has been phenomenal; most Android apps use the Support Library today. We want to increase our investment in this area, and it is critical that we lay a solid foundation. In that vein, we took a step back and chatted with many of you. The feedback has been consistent and unanimous; the organic growth of the library has become confusing. ...

Posted by Dave Smith , Developer Advocate for IoT Android Things is Google's managed OS that enables you to build and maintain Internet of Things devices at scale. We provide a robust platform that does the heavy lifting with certified hardware, rich developer APIs, and secure managed software updates using Google's back-end infrastructure, so you can focus on building your product. After a developer preview with over 100,000 SDK downloads, we're releasing Android Things 1.0 to developers today with long-term support for production devices. Developer feedback and engagement has been critical in our journey towards 1.0, and we are grateful to the over 10,000 developers who have provided us feedback through the issue tracker, at workshop events, and through our Google+ community. Powerful production hardware Today, we are announcing support for new System-on-Modules (SoMs) based on the NXP i.MX8M, Qualcomm SDA212, Qualcomm SDA624, and MediaTek MT8516 hardware platforms. These...

Posted by John Posavatz, Product Manager, Android Auto Since 2015, Android developers have been building and growing great apps for cars. Drivers are benefiting from thoughtfully designed apps that provide safe and seamless connected experiences, whether they drive one of many Android Auto compatible cars or use the Android Auto app on their phones. Today, thousands of apps for Android Auto are available through the Google Play Store for millions of drivers in over 30 countries around the world. And because the Google Assistant is available on Android Auto, developers are able to build voice-powered experiences on their apps that let drivers get things done while keeping their eyes on the road. But it doesn't end there -- great driving apps will soon reach beyond Android Auto users. Last year, carmakers Volvo Cars and Audi announced the development of new connected cars powered by Android. As an important next step, we are now working with Volvo Cars to bring the Play Store and ...

Posted by Doug Stevenson, Developer Advocate Starting today, the Android SDKs for Google Play services and Firebase will be using a new build and versioning scheme. This may require some changes to the way you build your Android app, so be sure to read here thoroughly to get all the details. Here's a quick summary of what's new in these SDKs: All dependencies now use semantic versioning. Each dependency may be updated individually, removing the need to upgrade them all simultaneously in your app. Each dependency has a faster cycle for bug fixes and new features. Beginning with version 15 of all Play services and Firebase libraries, version numbers adhere to the semantic versioning scheme. As you know, semver is an industry standard for versioning software components, so you can expect that version number changes for each library indicate the amount of change in the library. Each Maven dependency matching com.google.android.gms:play-services-* and com.google.firebase:firebas...

Posted by Purnima Kochikar, Director, Apps and Games Business Development, Google Play This year's Google Play Awards will take place on Monday, May 7th, kicking off the week of Google I/O. Celebrating our third year, we're excited to highlight nine categories; some you may recognize from previous years, along with new additions highlighting growth areas and trends we're focused on, such as building for emerging markets. Each year, the Google Play Awards recognize top apps and games on Google Play. They represent some of the best experiences available on Android, with an emphasis on overall quality, strong design, technical performance, and innovation. The nominees were selected by various teams across Google, and all meet criteria thresholds covering high star rating, Android vitals, and have had a launch or major update since April 2017. Congratulations to this year's nominees below and don't forget to check them out on the Google Play store at g.co/play/gpa2...