Last month on Google I/O we had a lot of new news for Android developers, including new features for Android Q and the latest developments for Kotlin and Jetpack.
We focused on three themes for Android Q: innovation, privacy and security, and digital health. We want to help developers take advantage of the latest technologies such as 5G, foldable, full-screen, and device-side machine learning, while ensuring that user safety, privacy, and health are at the forefront of your development process.
We also talked about how we will continue to strengthen Kotlin’s position as the preferred development language and continue to expand Jetpack, Add libraries like CameraX, Jetpack Security, and Jetpack Compose, a modern, respond-style Android interface toolkit based on Kotlin. If you missed the live broadcast of the keynote or sub-conference talk, please check out the full list of Android and Google Play talk videos.
Last week, we officially released Beta 4 and the final API and official SDK for Android Q. Now get your app ready for its official release later this summer.
You can join the Beta testing program to get Beta 4 on Pixel devices right away. If you have participated in the Beta test program and already run Beta 3 on your Pixel device, it will be automatically updated to Beta 4. Google partners participating in the Android Q Beta program will also update their devices to Beta 4 in the coming weeks.
If you want to start for Android Q Beta development application, please click: developer. The Android, Google. Cn/preview /
What does Beta 4 contain?
The Beta 4 update includes the latest Android Q image for Pixel and emulator use, the final Android Q developer API (API level 29), the official API 29 SDK, and an updated Android Studio build tool. These updates ensure that you can test application compatibility for Android Q and build on Android Q’s features and apis.
To get started, it’s easy to download the official API 29 SDK and tools to Android Studio 3.4 Stable or update to Android Studio 3.5 Beta for Android Q support. Then follow the setup instructions to configure the development environment, and also read the list of known problems in the release notes.
Adapt your application to Android Q!
Now that the developer API has been finalized and the release candidate is coming, it’s important for all developers to start testing their apps for compatibility with Android Q, and we recommend doing so as soon as possible.
- Android Q release schedule developer. The Android. Google. Cn/preview/ove…
Download your app from the App Store to a real machine or emulator running Android Q Beta and test it. When testing major workflows, your application should perform well and properly handle the behavior changes that Android Q brings. Please note the impact of privacy changes, gesture navigation, and dynamic link path changes in the biometric library.
Be sure to test new privacy features on Android Q, including new location permission requests, restrictions on launching apps in the background, changes to data and device identifiers, and other core privacy features. Check out the privacy feature checklist and test each one. Also review the behavior change documentation to identify additional test items.
Partition storage
Location permissions required for wireless connection
Full-screen Intent permission
Android Q behavior changes
It is also important to test the restricted non-SDK interfaces that the application is using and switch to alternative interfaces that expose the SDK or NDK. Take a look at logcat for warnings about calls to non-SDK interfaces, and use StrictMode’s detectNonSdkApiUsage() method to catch these calls at run time.
Finally, thoroughly test the development libraries and SDKS used in your application to ensure that they work properly in Android Q and follow best practices for privacy, performance, user experience, data handling, and permissions. If you find exceptions, try to update to the latest version of the SDK, or contact the SDK developer for help. You can also use the links below to report SDK compatibility issues, or click here to submit product feedback.
After testing your application and making any necessary updates, we recommend that you publish the adaptations as soon as possible. This will allow Android Beta users to test it, and help smooth the transition as users update to Android Q.
- Use test channels from the user to obtain valuable feedback early developer. The android, Google. Cn/distribute /…
We understand that making these changes will require r&d investment, so we are working hard to minimize the impact on your application and will continue to listen to and respond to your feedback as we release the final version over the next few months.
Improve your application with new Android Q features and apis
After you’re ready, take a closer look at Android Q and the features and apis you can use in your applications. The new features of Android Q will help you attract users, give them more control and privacy, and even improve the performance of your application.
Folding screen
Gestures to navigate
Night mode
Smart replies and suggested actions in notifications
Share shortcuts
Quick Settings panel
If your application uses Wi-Fi to manage iot devices, try the new Network Connnection API to use configuration, download, or print capabilities. If your application manages Wi-Fi Network connections, try using the Network Suggestion API to show the user the preferred Wi-Fi Network and initiate a Network connection without requesting location rights.
If your application uses a camera, check out the dynamic depth format. For media processing applications, you can use the video encoding format AV1 for video streaming and HDR10+ for high dynamic range video. For voice and music streaming, you can use Opus encoding. We also have native MIDI apis for music creators.
Audio playback capture function
Thermal API
BiometricPrompt is now more recommended for fingerprint recognition on modern devices, and all developers using fingerprint recognition or other biometric authentication should switch to this API as soon as possible. To make the switching process smoother, use the backwards compatible BiometricPrompt API that we provide in the AndroidX library. Android Q supports both explicit and implicit authentication flows (which do not require explicit user confirmation when changing recognition methods such as face recognition).
These are just a few of the new features and apis in Android Q. Check out the Android Q Beta development website for a full listing.
Release app updates on the App Store
With the release of Android Q Beta 4, Google Play is also officially accepting apps compiled for (and optionally for) API 29. This allows you to push app updates to users via Google Play and test app compatibility on users’ devices, including those running Android Q Beta 4.
How do I get Beta 4?
The acquisition steps are simple! Pixel users please join the Beta test plan and get updates. If you have joined, the device will soon receive an update push without any action. In addition, system image files are available for download. Google partners in the Android Q Beta program will also update their devices in the coming weeks. Visit android.com/beta to view all supported models.
For more testing on supported devices, you can download the Android GSI Universal System Image. If you don’t have a suitable device for the moment, you can also test using a simulator.
Your feedback is very important to us, so please continue to give us product ideas and suggestions. You can use the hot list to report platform issues (including privacy and behavior change issues), application compatibility issues and third-party SDKS to us. You are also welcome to comment in the comments section below or click here to submit product feedback suggestions. We’ve received a lot of valuable feedback and are currently actively preparing for the next Beta release, hoping to incorporate as many comments and suggestions as possible.
Look forward to seeing your app perform well on Android Q!
Click here to submit product feedback suggestions
