The latest Android and Google Play news for app and game developers.
Posted by Sam Spencer, Technical Program Manager, Google Play
The Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) platform is seven years old and the active device count has been below 1% for some time. Consequently, we are deprecating support for ICS in future releases of Google Play services. For devices running ICS, the Google Play Store will no longer update Play Services APK beyond version 14.7.99.
What does this mean as an Application developer:
The Google Play services SDK contains the interfaces to the functionality provided by the Google Play services APK, running as background services. The functionality required by the current, released SDK versions is already present on ICS devices with Google Play services and will continue to work without change.
With the SDK version changes earlier this year, each library can be independently released and may update its own minSdkVersion. Individual libraries are not required to change based on this deprecation. Newer SDK components may continue to support API levels 14 and 15 but many will update to require the higher API level. For applications that support API level 16 or greater, you will not need to make any changes to your build. For applications that support API levels 14 or 15, you may continue to build and publish your app to devices running ICS, but you will encounter build errors when updating to newer SDK versions. The error will look like this:
Error:Execution failed for task ':app:processDebugManifest'. > Manifest merger failed : uses-sdk:minSdkVersion 14 cannot be smaller than version 16 declared in library [com.google.android.gms:play-services-FOO:16.X.YY] Suggestion: use tools:overrideLibrary="com.google.android.gms:play_services" to force usage
Unfortunately, the stated suggestion will not help you successfully run your app on older devices. In order to use the newer SDK, you will need to use one of the following options:
1. Target API level 16 as the minimum supported API level.
This is the recommended course of action. To discontinue support for API levels that will no longer receive Google Play services updates, simply increase the minSdkVersion value in your app's build.gradle to at least 16. If you update your app in this way and publish it to the Play Store, users of devices with less than that level of support will not be able to see or download the update. However, they will still be able to download and use the most recently published version of the app that does target their device.
A very small percentage of all Android devices are using API levels less than 16. You can read more about the current distribution of Android devices. We believe that many of these old devices are not actively being used.
If your app still has a significant number of users on older devices, you can use multiple APK support in Google Play to deliver an APK that uses Google Play services 14.7.99. This is described below.
2. Build multiple APKs to support devices with an API level less than 16.
Along with some configuration and code management, you can build multiple APKs that support different minimum API levels, with different versions of Google Play services. You can accomplish this with build variants in Gradle. First, define build flavors for legacy and newer versions of your app. For example, in your build.gradle, define two different product flavors, with two different compile dependencies for the stand-in example play-services-FOO component:
productFlavors { legacy { minSdkVersion 14 versionCode 1401 // Min API level 14, v01 } current { minSdkVersion 16 versionCode 1601 // Min API level 16, v01 } } dependencies { legacyCompile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-FOO:16.0.0' currentCompile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-FOO:17.0.0' }
In the above situation, there are two product flavors being built against two different versions of play-services-FOO. This will work fine if only APIs are called that are available in the 16.0.0 library. If you need to call newer APIs made available with 17.0.0, you will have to create your own compatibility library for the newer API calls so that they are only built into the version of the application that can use them:
After building a release APK for each flavor, you then publish them both to the Play Store, and the device will update with the most appropriate version for that device. Read more about multiple APK support in the Play Store.
Posted by John Posavatz, Product Manager, Android Auto
At Google I/O this past May, we provided a sneak preview of several new media and messaging features for Android Auto. We are happy to announce that these features are now ready in our latest version of Android Auto, and we encourage you to update your Android Auto implementations to take advantage of them!
Several new features make it easier for users to find the media content that they're looking for. Check out the full documentation for them on our Android developer site.
Search results
After performing an Assistant-based search (e.g. "OK Google, play [artist / album / playlist / book / song / genre]"), music auto-plays as before, and in addition you can now provide your own list of categorized results. First, you'll need to declare support for onSearch() in your MediaBrowserServiceCompat implementation, and then override it. Android Auto forwards a user's search terms to this method whenever a user invokes the "Show more results" affordance.
Android Auto calls onSearch with the same Bundle of extras as the one defined for Android Auto's playFromSearch() calls. Unlike playFromSearch(), onSearch() includes a Result> that can be used to return multiple MediaItems back to Android Auto for display.
You can then categorize search results using title items. For example, music apps may include categories such as "Artists", "Albums" and "Songs".
Improved browse
Content has been "brought forward" out of the drawer, and now resides within the main view of the media screen. Within this new layout, you now have an option of either displaying your browse trees as a simple list, or you can optionally display large grids of album art / icons. We recommend using lists wherever the text description is most useful in describing content (e.g. a list of track names or podcast episodes), whereas the larger grid view is most appropriate where the album / icon aids in quick identification and selection.
To start applying content styles, you should set a global default for how your media items are displayed by applying specific constants in the BrowserRoot extras bundle returned by the onGetRoot() function. Android Auto reads the extras associated with each item in the browse tree and looks for specific constants (detailed in our documentation), and then use the presence/value of each key to add the appropriate indicator.
In order to change the default behavior for a specific node, the Content Style API supports overriding the default global hint for any browsable node's children. The same extras as above can be supplied as extras in the MediaDescription. If these extras are present, then the children of that browsable node will have the new Content Style hint.
Finally, you can organize content using title items to group media in a list. To do this, every media item in the group needs to declare an extra in their media description with the same string value, which you can localize. This value is used as the group title. You also need to pass the media items together and in the order you want them displayed.
Additional metadata icons
In both browsing and playback views, you are now able to show icons next to media items which have explicit language, have been downloaded to the user's device, and which are unplayed / partially played / completed (e.g. for audiobooks and podcasts).
Android Auto inspects extras for each item in the browse tree and looks for the specific keys for the indicators, and then uses the presence/value of each key to add the appropriate indicator.
You should add these extras to content returned by your MediaBrowse Service. "Explicit" and "Downloaded" are boolean extras (set to true to show the indicator), while "Completion State" is an integer extra set to the appropriate value. Apps should create an extras bundle that includes one or more of these keys and pass that to MediaDescription.Builder.setExtras().
We are deprecating CarExtender, in favor of the more robust and broadly beneficial MessagingStyle API. Migrating to MessagingStyle is very straightforward, and not only extends messaging support beyond Android Auto (for example, to Google Assistant), but it also brings the following immediate benefits for Android Auto:
Group messaging
Formerly, Android Auto's support for group messages was lacking - in most cases, notifications were never shown. MessagingStyle addresses that, so that your users never miss a message.
MMS / RCS support
Android Auto only supports SMS natively through the system SMS broadcast. MessagingStyle allows support for SMS apps that themselves support RCS and MMS.
To enable your app to provide messaging service for Auto devices, your app must do the following:
By moving to MessagingStyle, your app will not only gain automotive support, but also gain a richer mobile notification experience including inline replying, image preview, and conversation history; all within the notification shade.
An in-depth guide to implementing (or updating to) MessagingStyle can be found in our online developer documentation.
Thanks for continuing to support Android Auto!
Posted by Jocelyn Becker, Senior Program Manager, Google Developer Training
The Google Developers Training team recently published an updated version of our Android Developer Fundamentals course as a series of Google codelabs.
Codelabs made their debut as onsite tutorials at Google I/O in 2015, and have skyrocketed in popularity as a way for developers to learn how to use Google technologies, APIs, and SDKs. A codelab is a short, self-contained tutorial that walks you through how to do a specific task. More than 2 million users have worked through Google codelabs this year.
Our Android courses were originally intended as classroom-based courses. However, we found that many people work through the courses on their own, outside of formal teaching programs. So, when we updated the Android Developer Fundamentals course, in addition to supporting classroom-based learning, we made the material available as a sequential series of codelabs.
The updated Android Developer Fundamentals (V2) course includes lessons on using the Room database and other Architecture Components. All the apps have been updated to reflect that the Empty Activity template in Android Studio uses ConstraintLayout, and we've updated all apps to a later version of Android Studio. For more details on the differences, see the release notes.
We've also re-published the Advanced Android Developer course as a series of codelabs. This course provides step-by-step instructions for learning about more advanced topics, and adding features to your app to improve user engagement and delight. Learn how to add maps to your apps, create custom views, use SurfaceView to draw directly to the screen, and much more.
If you want to teach either course in the classroom, or use it as the basis of a study jam, the complete package is still available, including slide decks, source code in GitHub, and concept guides, in addition to the step-by-step codelabs.
Posted by Purnima Kochikar, Director, Business Development, Games & Applications
Today, we announced our annual Best of 2018 list, highlighting the best content on Google Play. But ever wonder about the makers behind your favorite apps and games like PUBG MOBILE or Tasty? Well, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the developers that brought to life the best U.S. apps and games of 2018. And this year was jam packed with entertainment — all thanks to the developers who pushed the envelope and sparked our imaginations.
Check out the full rundown of the developers behind the best apps and games of 2018 on Google Play:
Posted by Parul Soi, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google Play
Android is fortunate to have an incredibly rich ecosystem of SDKs and libraries to help developers build great apps more efficiently. These SDKs can range from developer tools that simplify complicated feature development to end-to-end services such as analytics, attribution, engagement, etc. All of these tools can help Android developers reduce cost and ship products faster.
For the past few months, various teams at Google have been working together on new initiatives to expand the resources and support we offer for the developers of these tools. Today, SDK developers can sign up and register their SDK with us to receive updates that will keep you informed about Google Play policy changes, updates to the platform, and other useful information.
Our goal is to provide you with whatever you need to better serve your technical and business goals in helping your partners create better apps or games. Going forward we will be sharing further resources to help SDK developers, so stay tuned for more updates.
If you develop an SDK or library for Android, make sure you sign up and register your SDK to receive updates about the latest tools and information to help serve customers better. And, if you're an app developer, share this blogpost with the developers of the SDKs that you use!
How useful did you find this blog post?
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Posted by Seang Chau (VP Engineering)
Last year we announced Fast Pair, a set of specs that make it easier to connect Bluetooth headsets and speakers to Android devices.
Today, we're making it easier for people to connect Fast Pair compatible accessories to devices associated with the same Google Account. Fast Pair will connect accessories to a user's current and future Android phones (6.0+), and we're adding support for Chromebooks in 2019.
Fast Pair provides stress-free Bluetooth pairing for your Android phone.
We have been working closely with dozens of manufacturers, many of which are bringing new Fast Pair compatible devices to market over the coming months. This includes Jaybird, who is already selling the Tarah Wireless Sport Headphones, as well as upcoming products from prominent brands such as Anker SoundCore, Bose, and many more.
The Jaybird Tarah, Fast Pair compatible sport headphones already available in the market.
We also want to make it easy for manufacturers to ship compatible products with minimal additional engineering effort. We collaborated with industry leading Bluetooth audio companies such as Airoha Technology Corp., BES and Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. (QTIL) to add native Fast Pair support to their software development kits.
If you are a manufacturer interested in creating Fast Pair compatible Bluetooth devices, just head to our Nearby Devices console to register your product and validate that it has correctly implemented the Fast Pair specs.
Posted by Hoi Lam, Lead Developer Advocate
Today, we are launching the final API 28 emulator image for developers. This image will also contain the UI redesign we announced in August. You should verify that your app's notification works well with the new notification stream, and that your apps work well against changes previously announced for API 28.
Here are the highlights of the API 28 emulator:
Please note that changes related to the new notification stream are being rolled out to devices supporting API 25 and up. You can test how your notification will behave now, before roll-out is complete, by using the API 28 emulator image.
Just because we are now in release build does not mean that our work stops here. Please continue to submit all bug / enhancement requests via the Wear OS by Google issue tracker.
Finally, we are grateful for all of your valuable feedback during the developer preview. It played an important role in our decision making process - especially concerning App Standby Buckets. Thank you!
Play Console
