Posted by Murat Yener, Developer Advocate
Today marks the release of the first Canary version of Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1), together with Android Gradle plugin (AGP) version 7.0.0-alpha01. With this release we are adjusting the version numbering for our Gradle plugin and decoupling it from the Android Studio versioning scheme. In this blog post we'll explain the reasons for the change, as well as give a preview of some important changes we're making to our new, incubating Android Gradle plugin APIs and DSL.
With AGP 7.0.0 we are adopting the principles of semantic versioning. What this means is that only major version changes will break API compatibility. We intend to release one major version each year, right after Gradle introduces its own yearly major release.
Moreover, in the case of a breaking change, we will ensure that the removed API is marked with @Deprecated about a year in advance and that its replacement is available at the same time. This will give developers roughly a year to migrate and test their plugins with the new API before the old API is removed.
@Deprecated
Alignment with Gradle's version is also why we're skipping versions 5 and 6, and moving directly to AGP 7.0.0. This alignment indicates that AGP 7.x is meant to work with Gradle 7.x APIs. While it may also run on Gradle 8.x, this is not guaranteed and will depend on whether 8.x removes APIs that AGP relies on.
With this change, the AGP version number will be decoupled from the Android Studio version number. However we will keep releasing Android Studio and Android Gradle plugin together for the foreseeable future.
Compatibility between Android Studio and Android Gradle plugin remains unchanged. As a general rule, projects that use stable versions of AGP can be opened with newer versions of Android Studio.
With AGP 7.0.0-alpha01 we are changing the minimum required Java programming language version to Java 11. We are announcing this early in the Canary schedule and many months ahead of the stable release to allow developers time to get ready.
This release of AGP also introduces some API changes. As a reminder, a number of APIs that were introduced in AGP 4.1 were marked as incubating and were subject to change. In fact, in AGP 4.2 some of these APIs have changed. The APIs that are currently incubating do not follow the deprecation cycle that we explain above.
Here is a summary of some important API changes.
onVariants
onProperties
onVariantProperties
beforeVariants
androidComponents
VariantSelector
withBuildType
withName
withFlavor
afterEvaluate
beforeUnitTest
unitTest
beforeAndroidTest
androidTest
Variant
VariantBuilder
VariantProperties
Let’s take a look at some of these changes. Here is a sample onVariants block which targets the release build. The onVariants block Is changed to beforeVariants and uses a variant selector in the following example.
.
``` android { … //onVariants.withName("release") { // ... //} … } androidComponents { val release = selector().withBuildType("release") beforeVariants(release) { variant -> ... } } ```
Similarly onVariantProperties block is changed to onVariants.
onVariants.
``` android { ... //onVariantProperties { // ... //} … } androidComponents.onVariants { variant -> ... } ```
Note, this customization is typically done in a plugin and should not be located in build.gradle. We are moving away from using functions with receivers which suited the DSL syntax but are not necessary in the plugin code.
We are planning to make these APIs stable with AGP 7.0.0 and all plugin authors must migrate to the new androidComponents. If you want to avoid dealing with such changes, make sure your plugins only use stable APIs and do not depend on APIs marked as incubating.
If you want to learn more about other changes coming with this release, make sure to take a look at the release notes.
Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Posted by Jamal Eason, Product Manager
Today marks the release of the first version of Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1) on the canary channel, together with Android Gradle plugin (AGP) version 7.0.0-alpha01. With this release, we are adjusting the version numbering of Android Studio and our Gradle plugin. This change decouples the Gradle plugin from the Android Studio versioning scheme and brings more clarity to which year and IntelliJ version Android Studio aligns with for each release.
With Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1) we are moving to a year-based system that is more closely aligned with IntelliJ IDEA, the IDE upon which Android Studio is built. We are changing the version numbering scheme to encode a number of important attributes: the year, the version of IntelliJ it is based on, plus feature and patch level. WIth this name change you can quickly figure out which version of the IntelliJ platform you are using in Android Studio. In addition, each major version will have a canonical codename, starting with Arctic Fox, and then proceeding alphabetically to help make it easy to see which version is newer.
We recommend that you use the latest version of Android Studio so that you have access to the latest features and quality improvements. To make it easier to stay up to date, we made the version change to clearly de-couple Android Studio from your Android Gradle Plugin version. An important detail to keep in mind is that there is no impact to the way the build system compiles and packages your app when you update the IDE. In contrast, app build process changes and APK/Bundles are dictated by your project AGP version. Therefore, it is safe to update your Android Studio version, even late in your development cycle, because your project AGP version can be updated in a different cadence than your Android Studio version. Lastly, with the new version system it is even easier than before for you or your team to run both the stable and preview versions of Android Studio at the same time on your app project as long as you keep the AGP version on a stable release.
In the previous numbering system, this release would have been Android Studio 4.3. With the new numbering system, it is now Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1) Canary 1 or just, Arctic Fox.
Going forward, here is how the Android Studio version number scheme will work:
<Year of IntelliJ Version>.<IntelliJ major version>.<Studio major version>
With AGP 7.0.0 we are adopting the principles of semantic versioning, and aligning with the Gradle version that AGP requires. Compatibility between Android Studio and Android Gradle plugin remains unchanged. Projects that use stable versions of AGP can be opened with newer versions of Android Studio.
We will publish another post soon with more details about our AGP versioning philosophy and what is new in AGP 7.0.
We are in early days in the feature development phase for Arctic Fox, but we have invested much of our time in addressing over 200 quality improvements and bugs across a wide range of areas in the IDE from the code editor, app inspection tools, layout editor to the embedded emulator. Check out the release notes for the specific bug fixes.
For those trying out Jetpack Compose, we have a host of new updates, like deploy @Preview composables to device/emulator:
@Preview
Deploy preview composable
Also try out the new Layout Validation Tool in Arctic Fox to see how your layout responds to various screens sizes, font sizes, and Android Color Correction/Color Blind Modes. You can access this via the Layout Validation tool window when you are using the Layout Editor.
Layout Validation
Lastly, for those running MacOS (other platforms are coming soon) with the latest Android Platform tools and an Android 11 device, you can try out the IDE integration for the Wireless ADB feature by going to the Run device selection dialogue → Pair Devices Using Wi-Fi.
Menu to access Wireless ADB feature
Wireless ADB Setup Window
If you want to learn more about other detailed changes coming with this release for both Android Studio and the Android Gradle plugin, make sure to take a look at the release notes.
Posted by Posted by Purnima Kochikar, Director, Business Development, Games & Applications
Today, we announced Google Play’s annual Best of 2020 awards, highlighting the year’s best apps, games and digital content. None of this would be possible without the developers that created the amazing content that made a profound impact on us in 2020, or should we say a Genshin Impact … From miHoYo Limited to Loona Inc, the makers behind your favorite apps and games were unafraid to experiment, challenge the status quo, and design incredible experiences we never thought possible.
Check out the full rundown of the developers behind the best apps and games of 2020 in the U.S. on Google Play:
Best App of 2020
Best Personal Growth Apps
Best Hidden Gem Apps
Best Everyday Essential Apps
Best Apps for Good
Best Apps for Fun
Best Game of 2020
Best Indie Games
Best Casual Games
Best Innovative Games
Best Competitive Games
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Posted by Ben Weiss, Developer Relations Engineer
The Android App Bundle series of Modern Android Development has just concluded. We finished off with a live Q&A session. I was joined by Chet Haase, Wojtek Kaliciński, and Iurii Makhno to go over bundles of questions from the #AskAndroid hashtag on Twitter as well as from the chat during the live stream.
But let’s rewind for a moment and take it from the top.
In the inaugural episode Wojtek sets the tone for this series by talking about why app bundles matter to you and your app.
In this episode you learn how to opt into Play App Signing by joining Wojtek on a journey through the Play Console. After watching this video you will have learned what options are available to you when opting into Play App Signing.
Alongside this video we recommend taking a look at the FAQ about Play App Signing, the app signing Android docs and the Play Console’s Play App Signing help page.
Now it’s time to learn how to build and upload your first Android App Bundle.
In this episode, I take you through the process of building a bundle using Android Studio and the command line interface.
Instead, you can read the write up of this episode.
Accompanying this episode, take a look at the app bundles documentation.
Here you’ll learn about delivery options. From install time, to conditional delivery to on demand delivery. I cover it all. And we’ll take an excursion through the sample on GitHub.
This episode also is available as an article for you to read. Additionally, the PlayCore guide is a valuable resource.
Have you wondered about how you can test your app bundle? No more wondering. Wojtek takes you through testing your app bundle locally and with the Play Console.
You can read up on this episode’s content in the accompanying article and the guide to testing your Android App Bundle.
Additionally we have guidance on developer tools on the Play Console and the Play Console help page for internal app sharing available for you.
And, if you want to download bundletool, here is where to find it.
Android GDE Angélica Oliveira tells us about the process and the impressive size savings her company saw when switching over to Android App Bundles.
We asked for your questions on Twitter. You replied, using the #AskAndroid hashtag.
And you continued asking questions during the live Q&A session.
Chet then got Wojtek, Iurii and myself in front of the camera for a live Q&A to answer your questions.
Read more about the 2021 API level bump and app bundle requirement
Posted by David Winer, Product Manager
The Android Kotlin Extensions Gradle plugin (not to be confused with Android KTX) was released in 2017 and brought two new conveniences to Android development in Kotlin:
findViewById
kotlinx.android.synthetic
@Parcelize
Since then, we have released View Binding for Android, an officially supported library that has deep integration with the Android build toolchain and provides similar functionality as Kotlin synthetics. While we continue to recommend Parcelize, a number of drawbacks have appeared with using Kotlin synthetics:
JetBrains originally developed the Android Kotlin Extensions plugin, and together we have discussed the pros and cons of continuing to maintain synthetics: we strive to ensure long term support for APIs where we can but want to guide developers towards best practices that make for healthy codebases and, ultimately, happy users.
Over the course of the next year, our teams will be jointly deprecating synthetics in favor of continuing to support our recommended option, View Binding. Here’s what that means:
kotlinx.parcelize
kotlin-parcelize
android-kotlin-extensions
The deprecation period starts with Kotlin 1.4.20, released today. android-kotlin-extensions will be removed in a future Kotlin release during or after September 2021. Long term, we will continue to maintain the kotlin-parcelize plugin, and you can continue to file issues on Parcelize in the Android Studio issue tracker.
Posted by Hoi Lam, Developer Relations Engineer, Android Platform
In 2021, we are continuing with our annual target API level update, requiring new apps to target API level 30 (Android 11) in August and in November for all app updates. In addition, as announced earlier this year, Google Play will require new apps to use the Android App Bundle publishing format. This brings the benefits of smaller apps and simpler releases to more users and developers and supports ongoing investment in advanced distribution.
Over 750,000 apps and games already publish to production on Google Play using app bundles. Top apps switching save an average size of 15% versus a universal APK. Users benefit from smaller downloads and developers like Netflix and Riafy see higher install success rates, which is especially impactful in regions with more entry level devices and slower data speeds. Developers switching can use advanced distribution features such as Play Asset Delivery and Play Feature Delivery. We value your feedback and plan to introduce further features and options for Play App Signing and Android App Bundles before the switchover.
From August 2021, the Google Play Console will require all new apps to:
The switch to Android App Bundle delivery will also impact instant experiences using the legacy Instant app ZIP format. From August 2021, new instant experiences and updates to existing instant experiences will be required to publish instant-enabled app bundles.
Here is a summary of all the changes:
TYPE OF RELEASE
REPLACED
REQUIRED AUG 2021
New apps on Google Play
APK
Android App Bundle (AAB)
Target API level set to 29+
Target API level set to 30+
Expansion files (OBBs)
Play Asset Delivery or Play Feature Delivery
REQUIRED NOV 2021
Updates to existing apps on Google Play
No new publishing format requirement
Wear OS apps are not subject to the new target API level requirement.
Apps can still use any minSdkVersion, so there is no change to your ability to build apps for older Android versions.
minSdkVersion
To learn more about transitioning to app bundles, watch our new video series: modern Android development (MAD) skills. We are extremely grateful for all the developers who have adopted app bundles and API level 30 already. We look forward to advancing the Android platform together with you.
Posted by Krish Vitaldevara, Director of Product Management Trust & Safety, Google Play
When it comes to privacy, we are committed to giving users control and transparency over data access. Users consistently tell us that they want more control over their location data, so earlier this year we announced a few privacy improvements, such as updates to Google Play’s Location Permissions policy and enhancements to location permission controls in Android 11.
To help prevent unnecessary access to background location, the updated policy allows access only if it’s critical to the app’s core functionality and provides clear user benefit. We found that many apps that requested background location don’t actually need it. Removing or changing it to foreground can help apps be battery-efficient and avoid poor app ratings when users don’t want to share their location.
If your app uses background location data, you must submit a form for review and receive approval by January 18, 2021 so your apps can stay on Google Play. Existing apps first published before April 16, 2020 have until March 29, 2021 to comply.
Tips to get approved
Resources to help
We want to help you through this process, so we’ve created this video and free training courses in Google Play Academy to use as a reference when you’re making any necessary app updates. You can also check out these best privacy practices and technical details to help identify possible background location usage in your code.
Thank you for continuing to partner with us to make Google Play a trustworthy platform for you and your users.
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