Android 16 Developer Preview 1 is accessible now to check along with your apps, forward of the deliberate launch in Q2 of 2025. 16 introduces main and minor API releases to permit us to drive quicker innovation with extra frequent API releases. We’re planning each a serious and minor API launch in 2025, and solely the Q2 main launch will embrace app-impacting deliberate habits modifications; the minor launch introduces new options with out these modifications, so you’ll be able to focus your app testing on main releases.
The week of November 18th was a Highlight Week on passkeys. These are a safer and simpler different to passwords permitting customers to signal into apps and web sites with a biometric sensor, PIN, or sample.
We kicked off Monday with a fast video on the passkey fundamentals and up to date UX tips for Credential Supervisor and passkeys together with an in-depth server-side implementation information. Plus an introduction to the Identification hub: a complete useful resource for passkeys, passwords, Register with Google authorization, and extra.
Then Tuesday was all in regards to the builders. This included a information that can assist you migrate from legacy APIs to Credential Supervisor, technical particulars on FIDO2 attestation format modifications, and a troubleshooting information for frequent Credential Supervisor errors.
Wednesday was targeted on new capabilities in Credential Supervisor. This included displaying Credential Supervisor outcomes as autofill options, single-tap sign-in, Sign API for Chrome desktop, and a Restore Credentials characteristic.
Thursday featured an #AskAndroid session and case research with Tokyu and X overlaying their profitable passkey deployments.
Lastly, Friday capped the week off with studying pathways on Android and Chrome, and a brand new Compose pattern app for Credential Supervisor and Android.
Based mostly in your suggestions, the Android Studio workforce took a step again from massive characteristic work on the Android Emulator for six months to concentrate on Undertaking Quartz, an initiative geared toward decreasing crashes, rushing up startup time, closing out bugs, and organising higher methods to detect and stop points sooner or later. We’ve got seen 30% fewer reported crashes within the newest steady model of Android Studio, and diminished our open points by 43.5%, with 17% of those actively mounted throughout Quartz.
A ton of content material got here out of #GooglePlaytime Milan. David Crary Mandel talks about monetization with insights about how one can take advantage of from customers’ time and pockets share tendencies.
Mingoo Kim’s covers the myths and fallacies of system optimization that can assist you make the appropriate investments to your sport or app. Hongda Ni shares insights about increasing your apps to new territories in Navigation market enlargement: key concerns. Tammy Taw covers Subscription fatigue: from myths to info to alternatives that can assist you enhance the efficiency of your subscription app and reduce Churn.
Kevin Flynn Deconstructs profitable Google Play sport launches. Austin Shoemaker covers Optimizing your app’s income: versatile monetization instruments to enhance your consumer conversion and cut back churn. Lastly, Kenny McCubbins shares perception on enhancing your advertisements with Measuring the impression of deceptive advertisements.
Thomas Ezan highlights Gaze Hyperlink, the winner of the Greatest Android App for our Gemini API Developer Competitors. Gaze Hyperlink demonstrates how the Gemini API can be utilized to supply a communication system for people with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who develop extreme motor and verbal disabilities, enabling them to sort sentences utilizing solely their eyes.
Gaze Hyperlink makes use of Google’s Gemini 1.5 Flash mannequin to foretell a consumer’s supposed sentence based mostly on just a few key phrases and the context of the dialog.
Aditya Pathak writes about how Google Play may help you navigate the ever-changing panorama of commerce and funds — particularly with regards to international tax and regulatory compliance.
Previously two years, we’ve seen a big enhance within the variety of new laws impacting Google Play builders. Aditya highlights how partnering with Google Play allows you to entry a world market serving over 190 nations with a strong ecosystem constructed on safety and belief.
Mindy Brooks covers just a few glorious ideas and tips that can assist you construct top quality, participating, and age-appropriate apps. App builders play an important position in shaping how folks of all ages work together with expertise. That is why Mindy covers how Google may help you establish a consumer’s age with digital ids, defend younger customers from inappropriate content material, develop trainer authorised apps and video games, and keep updated with Google Play’s households insurance policies.
At Google Play, we’re dedicated to offering a secure and safe surroundings for your small business to thrive. That is why Dom Elliott put collectively this text on how the Play Integrity API helps defend your small business from income loss and enhances consumer security. You’ll be prepared to make use of this API to detect suspicious exercise and resolve how to answer abuse reminiscent of fraud, bots, dishonest, or information theft.
Lastly, Mark Taylor and Mihai Cîrlănaru share an replace on Chrome’s new diminished user-agent string. Starting in Android 16, the default user-agent string in Android WebView will match the shortened string now seen in Chrome on the desktop and Android platforms.
In episode 221 of Android Builders Backstage Chet, Romain, and Tor chat with Shai Barack about how the Android platform workforce research efficiency and understands system well being. They cowl subjects reminiscent of measuring efficiency, deciding trade-offs, and a few of their favourite instruments reminiscent of Perfetto, Compiler Explorer, and Android Studio’s Reminiscence Profiler.
Take heed to it in podcast or YouTube format.
In #AndroidBuildTime, Christopher Cartland, Mayuri Khinvasara Khabya, and Levi Schmidt cowl how one can embrace Extremely HDR photos in your Android apps.
Rebecca Frank shared an excellent collection of movies on how one can unleash your creative facet with code! First she covers clipping and masking in Jetpack Compose. Which naturally leads into an excellent overview of how one can flip your UI into an inventive masterpiece in Graphics layers | Jetpack Compose Ideas.
And when you’re searching for an actual fast tip, take a look at Jossi Wolf’s #brief on AnchoredDraggable.
Are you questioning how pill and stylus help can enhance your Android app? Try this video of how FlippaClip noticed a 54% enhance in pill customers and improved their income by constructing massive display and stylus help on Android and test this text for extra particulars.
#WeArePlay celebrates folks behind the apps and video games you understand and love on Google Play. Fujio from Tokyo, Japan created Pirika, an app that helps clear up public areas by combatting litter. (Related article right here.) Over in Indonesia, the husband-and-wife workforce of Mesty and Garri created an app that provides dad and mom throughout Indonesia the instruments and data they should care for his or her kids. (Related article right here.)
The first alpha launch of ExifInterface 1.4.0 was launched, bringing help for studying XMP information from HEIF photos and AVIF photos and Exif from XVIF as properly.
Media3 1.5.0 reached steady with many enhancements together with:
Sooner picture encoding and movement images in Transformer.
Simplified the setup for DefaultPreloadManager and ExoPlayer.
A brand new IAMF decoder, a Kotlin listener extension, simpler Participant customization delegation, and a lot extra.
Try Kristina Simakova‘s article to seek out out extra about all new APIs and bug fixes.
Lastly WebKit had its first 1.13 alpha launch, bringing an experimental async startup API and a mechanism to permit builders to set off URL prefetching.
That’s it for this week, with the first developer preview of Android 16, a highlight on Passkeys, nice enhancements to Android emulator stability, and extra!
Examine again quickly to your subsequent replace from the Android developer universe! 💫