Now in Android: Key Updates and Announcements

Welcome to Now in Android, your guide to the latest and greatest in Android development. This edition covers a wide range of topics, from Android API level updates and the integration of Gemini AI into Android Studio, to Google Play enhancements, spotlight weeks on adaptive Android apps and Android AI, Jetpack Compose features, Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) and Room updates, and much more.

Android API Level and Schedule Updates

Mark your calendars! In 2025, expect a major Android API release in Q2 and a minor API release in Q4. The Q4 minor release will include new APIs but, importantly, won't have planned behavior changes, minimizing compatibility testing. The major release has been moved forward to Q2 to better align with major Android OEM schedules. Developer previews and beta programs for the Q2 2025 major release are coming soon.

Gemini and Android Studio Integration

Android Studio's Gemini AI assistant is here to supercharge your development workflow! It can assist with writing, refactoring, and documenting code, generating unit test scenarios, analyzing build errors, and providing crash report insights. It's now integrated into Compose workflows, simplifying composable visualization during design time. You can try it out now in the Android Studio Canary channel.

Google Play Updates: Growth, Revenue, and Security

Google Play has shared new ways to grow your audience, optimize revenue, and protect your business. Key updates include:

• Fullscreen portrait videos on Play Store listings.
• User selection around interests for app and game recommendations.
• Expanding payment options.
• Algorithmic recommendations for inapp purchases.
• Cart abandonment reminders.
• Support for hardwarebacked security signals for improved API verdicts in the Play Integrity API.
• A new app access risk feature.

Adaptive Android Apps: Building for Multiple Form Factors

The Adaptive Spotlight Week highlighted resources for building adaptive apps. Key takeaways include:

• New documentation for building adaptive apps.
• The Material 3 adaptive library.
• The developer preview of desktop windowing on Android tablets.
• Custom adaptive layouts in Compose.
• The new Productivity App Developer Center.
• Responsive layouts in the JetLagged sample.
• The new Ink API.

With Android powering foldables, tablets, Chrome OS, and cars, it's more important than ever to consider building adaptive apps.

Android AI Spotlight Week

The Android AI Spotlight Week provided a wealth of resources on leveraging AI in Android app development. Key highlights include:

• A quick introduction to large language models for Android developers.
• Studio's new Geminipowered code completion.
• Experimental developer access to the latest version of Gemini Nano.
• Introduction to privacy and safety for Gemini Nano.
• Bringing your own AI model to Android devices.
• Utilizing cloud models to add Gemini capabilities to your Android app.

Developer Updates and Blog Posts

CameraX Updates

CameraX, Android's Jetpack camera library, will now handle the composition of dual concurrent camera streams, starting with version 1.5.0alpha01, making the feature easier to support.

Chrome Autofill Services

Chrome 131 and later support thirdparty autofill services like password managers. Developers of these services need to instruct users to toggle a setting in Chrome to continue using their service with Chrome due to changes in compatibility mode.

Android FIDO2 API Attestation Format Change

An upcoming change to the attestation format for the Android FIDO2 API will be effective November 2024, with a mandatory switch to the new hardwarebacked format in early April 2025. This is due to the deprecation of the SafetyNet API.

Responsive Layout in Jetpack Compose (JetLagged Sample)

Logic coupled with window size classes, flow layouts, movable content, and lookahead scope was used to create a responsive dashboardlike layout in Jetpack Compose in the JetLagged sample.

Optimizing FlipaClip for Large Screens

FlipaClip optimized for large screens, including stylus support and redesigning the large screen drawing area, resulting in a 54% increase in tablet users over just four months.

WeArePlay: NomadHer

Robbie covers the developer behind NomadHer and how she's aiming to reshape how women explore the world.

AllTrails on Wear OS

AllTrails created a new WearOS application that led to over 1 million downloads, leveraging Compose for WearOS and Health Connect.

Android Developers Backstage: Building UIs in Android Studio

Episode 210 of Android Developers Backstage discussed how the Android Studio team builds UIs, covering the use of Compose for Desktop in parts of Android Studio and how the Compose markdown renderer in the Jewel library powers Studio Bot.

New Video Content

The Android Show

The Android Show included a live Q&A from droidcon London, a big update to Gemini in Android Studio, and coverage of the updated 2025 Android release schedule.

Google Play PolicyBytes

The October PolicyBytes covered policy updates around health and medical apps, health misinformation, medical device access, Health Connect permissions, the enforcement process, user data protection, and other key updates.

Jetpack Compose, Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP), and Room Updates

Room Renovations

Recent Room renovations include Room support for Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP), supporting shared database code across Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux. There are also resources available to help you get started with Room KMP and define entities and queries.

Lazy Grids

Lazy grids provide a flexible alternative to using columns, especially for grids with multiple columns on larger screens. A companion short demonstrates creating a landscape layout for portrait content using lazy grids.

AnchoredDraggable

AnchoredDraggable enables swiping or dragging a component between anchor points.

Spotify Discovery

Spotify is driving discovery and engagement on and beyond the Play Store.

New Codelabs

• Advanced Activity Embedding: Covers pane expansion, activity pinning, and fullscreen dialog dimming.
• Add Gemini capabilities to your Android app: Guides you through adding summarization capabilities to the JetNews sample application using Vertex AI, Firebase, and the Gemini API.

Android Jetpack Updates

Material 3 1.4 Alpha

The first alpha of Material 3 1.4 includes behavior changes such as Material 3 components using the new motion scheme, updated colors, wavy progress indicators, support for emphasized type scales, and split button shape morphs.

Navigation 2.9 Alpha

The first alpha of Navigation 2.9 supports custom navigators, marking their destinations as implementing the supporting pane interface, indicating to the NavController that these destinations will be shown alongside other destinations.

Ink Alpha

The first alpha of Ink is a modular and configurable library for creating, rendering, and manipulating beautiful ink strokes authored in your application.

Check out the Now and Android blog post for more Android Jetpack updates.

In Summary

This edition of Now in Android covered Android API level and schedule updates, AI assistance from Gemini in Android Studio, Google Play updates, Spotlight weeks on adaptive Android apps and Android AI, CameraX updates, responsive layout, lazy grids and AnchoredDraggable in Jetpack Compose, KMP and Room, Material 3, Navigation, Ink, and Android Jetpack. Remember to like, subscribe, and share!