The new Pixel Fold & Pixel Tablet are here: optimizing for large screens with the latest stable APIs and tools

Posted by Maru Ahues Bouza, Director, Android Developer Relations

Last month at Google I/O, we announced that Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold are joining our Pixel family of devices, and this month, as consumers purchase them, they are opening them up and downloading their favorite apps, including perhaps…yours!

We’ve been walking you through a number of optimizations you can make so that your app looks great on large screens, but it boils down to three important design principles to make the most of the extra screen space on large screen Android devices:

Two-pane layouts display content across two columns, showing you more content across the unfolded, larger screen, and allows you to do more without extra taps or losing context

App continuity on foldable phones ensures apps easily transition from folded to unfolded orientations

Responsive layouts resize content and controls as the screen size changes, such as when you use two apps in split-screen mode

Over 50+ Google apps, and many of your other favorite apps have already made the optimizations; we rounded up some of our favorites, like how the team at LINE adapts to a two-pane layout, or how Peloton optimized their app for larger screens, including a new design for foldable phones in tabletop mode. It’s a great time to invest in optimizing for large screens; in fact, great large screen apps will be featured and ranked higher in recommendations in Play.

Some of the latest resources to help you get started for large screens

For the last few weeks, we’ve been diving into the world of large screens with posts to help you get the most out of these devices with your apps, including many of the latest updates from this year’s Google I/O. Here’s a round-up of some of the posts:

Get inspired: including in our large screen gallery, that dives into specific use-cases by vertical, or hear how Peloton saw an uptick in user demand across their form factor offering

Developers Guide to Pixel Fold & Pixel Tablet: specific recommendations on how to get ready for these new Pixel devices

Better design for bigger screens: How Material You supports beautiful, efficient tablet and foldable experiences

The dos and don’ts: Common questions we encounter when optimizing your Android app for large screens (And what NOT to do!)

New testing features in Android Studio: including updates to Android Studio and Emulators from Google I/O that let you create virtual devices using new Google Pixel Fold and Google Pixel Tablet device profiles (Android Studio Hedgehog)

The top 3 things to know in multi-device from Google I/O: our round-up in the world of large screens, Wear OS and TV from Google I/O

Detecting device type: how to know if a device is a foldable or a tablet

This is just a taste of the materials we have to help you get your apps ready for large screens, and there’s even more here. Still want more? We’d love to hear how we can help. We can’t wait to see how great your apps look on Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold!