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Android Studio Hedgehog is here to help polish apps for Android 14
The latest version of Android Developers’ IDE is now stable
Android would be nothing without all the apps available for the mobile operating system. Google can’t solely rely on its first-party services to fill all use cases. To make the process as easy as possible for everyone building Android apps, the company offers Android Studio as its official Integrated Developer Environment (IDE). The latest version, Android Studio 2023.1.1 Hedgehog, is now rolling out in stable.
Android Studio Electric Eel includes resizable emulators and a native scrpy alternative
Google adds lots of quality-of-life features for Android developers
New Android releases like the upcoming Android 14 are probably what most of us are looking forward to the most, but app developers have another piece of software they love to see updated: The official Android Studio development environment. Since 2021, Google has started giving new releases fun names from the animal kingdom, and as such, this week’s new release is called Electric Eel (or 2022.1.1). While its predecessor Dolphin was mostly focused on bug fixes, Electric Eel is a bigger upgrade.
Jetpack Compose debuts new Material Design 3 controls and expands to Android TV
Developers shouldn’t have to dread yearly OS updates anymore thanks to the new Android SDK Upgrade Assistant
Google is kicking off its annual Android Dev Summit with a welcome lineup of updates, new development libraries, and enhanced tooling. This year's big talking points feature Jetpack Compose, Material Design 3, and Android Studio Flamingo, but most of the individual form factors are also making appearances.
Android Studio Dolphin brings much-needed aid to Wear OS dev workflow
Gradle basically gets virtual fleet management
Android Studio is back with a new stable update, the fourth major one since the 2021 revamp that turned the progression of version numbers into a series of animals in alphabetical order. As such, we're looking at 'D' for 'Dolphin,' and a whole bunch of improvements to the workflows for Wear OS development and Jetpack Compose.
Android Studio Chipmunk stable is here with Compose Animation Preview and a whole lot of fixes
It's a relatively minor update focusing more on stability
Android itself may be moving away from whimsy, having backed down from its cute dessert names for major releases (at least, other than for internal development), but it sure feels like Android Studio's been more than willing to pick up the slack, adopting a trend of naming stable releases after animals in mid-2021. The first update as part of this new naming scheme arrived as Arctic Fox and has since been superseded by Bumblebee. Now, following months of beta testing, Google is promoting its latest version to stable, and it comes with some new features to help improve the Android app building process — along with a cute new animal name, of course: Chipmunk
Chromebook users can look forward to Android apps and games that work better, and soon
Freeform windows may no longer be the bane of your Android app UX
Over the years, Google has taken baby steps to adapt Android towards bigger screens. With Android 10 came the advent of a generic desktop mode while Android 12L contained a full suite of optimizations for tablets and foldable devices. But with Chromebook owners seem keen on seeking utility from Android apps, no matter how broken they can be with malformed UIs in freeform windows, this just-announced addition to Android Studio sounds well overdue.
Latest patent lawsuit to target Google takes aim at Android's power management code
Is there pocket change stuck in this Lint?
We're used to seeing patent lawsuits filed by small holding firms against tech giants go through Texas's federal courts. Whether they end up being rightful claims to royalties or a fruitless attempt at trolling, we don't often recognize the names of the plaintiffs. Not so with this new case against Google coming out of Purdue University.
Android Studio Bumblebee brings QR code pairing for wireless ADB, Apple silicon support for platform tools, and other improvements
Time-saving tools for Android Developers
Android Studio Bumblebee (v.2021.1.1) has now reached stable, giving developers new tools to design and build apps for Android. There are a lot of changes compared to the last big release in 2021. Reports indicate the new ADB over Wi-Fi via QR codes might be a little buggy, but others like instrumentation tests using Gradle, better window integration for the emulator in the IDE, new platform tools and build tools optimized for Apple's snazzy silicon, and a new device manager — among a lot more.
Google's UI tool Jetpack Compose reaches stable build after two years of development
Android development is better than ever
Since its introduction during I/O 2019, Jetpack Compose was obviously destined to become the prescribed method of Android UI development. After more than two years in public development, it has hit the milestone many developers have been waiting for: an official 1.0 release. Alongside a stable release of Android Studio Arctic Fox, Jetpack Compose is ready for use in production code.
Google really wants developers to adopt its new Material UI
Google isn't making devs wait to start working on the new stuff
Android development may have started as a grab bag of poorly integrated libraries with no documentation and running it all in a bad IDE, but things have really turned around over the years. Android Studio makes it easier to build working apps with fewer mistakes; Kotlin makes for more readable straightforward code; and the combination of Jetpack and Jetpack Compose provides a clear direction for faster development. Today's announcement really focuses on Jetpack Compose, but as you would expect from each Google I/O, new versions of each are coming out and they've got something new for everybody.
Google releases Android Studio 4.2 with IntelliJ upgrade and wizard UI refresh
Upgrading your project to the latest version will be less complicated
Android Studio is the primary tool developers use to make apps for Android. After being in beta for months, the latest version of the SDK — Studio 4.2 — is available to download through the stable channel.
Android Studio 4.1 leaves beta with integrated emulator and enhanced TensorFlow Lite support
It also includes the new Android Emulator that debuted in August
Android Studio is the recommended development environment for creating Android applications, and it receives frequent updates to take advantage of new functionality in Android and Google Play Services. Android Studio 4.1 entered beta alongside the release of the first Android 11 beta, and now it's ready for all developers to use.
Android Studio Emulator updated with enhanced support for foldables
There are also new performance enhancements
Android Studio is the main SDK for developing Android applications and games, and it has a built-in device emulator for testing projects across a wide range of hardware setups. Google just released a massive update for the Android Emulator with improved support for foldable devices, performance enhancements, and a few bug fixes.
Platforms live or die on the backs of developers, without which we wouldn't have apps or services to run on them. Microsoft had that figured out years ago, and Google has learned all about it when it comes to Android. Now Google is stepping up its efforts when it comes to developing for (and on) Chrome OS, highlighting Chrome OS's new customizable Linux terminal, while also announcing support for the Android Emulator on select Chromebooks and a whole new website for ChromeOS developers, plus a handful of smaller changes.
Google announces major updates to Android Studio and Google Play Console
Android Studio Beta now has an integrated emulator and Kotlin 1.4 support
The big news today is the official release of the first Android 11 beta, but that's not all that Google has been working on. Today, the company also revealed a few updates for developers to get excited, like features coming to the Android Studio IDE and an overhauled Play Console.
Android Studio is Google's official development environment for creating Android applications. The past few updates have been relatively minor, mostly focusing on quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes, but Google has also been cooking up a larger upgrade. Android Studio 4.0 leaves beta today, and it's full of changes that should make creating apps a lot easier.
Android Studio 3.6 now available with improved design editors and multi-display emulation support
The Android Emulator now has initial support for multi-display devices
Android Studio is the Google-recommended method of developing Android applications. The IDE receives regular updates, and just in time for the Android 11 developer preview, version 3.6 is now available in the stable branch.
First Android 11 Developer Preview lands today for Google Pixel 2, 3, 3a, and 4
Our first taste of Android's latest release includes new notification tweaks, privacy and security enhancements, and more
Android 11 is now official, and Google is releasing the first Developer Preview for this new version starting today. The software changes this time sound ambitious, with Google essentially taking most of its work on Android 10 and (literally) turning it up to 11, featuring enhancements to privacy and security, improvements to Project Mainline, a new dedicated "conversations" section for notifications, and tweaks to better harness 5G — all among a much longer list of changes just too big to include here. You can check it out for yourself by manually flashing it onto supported Pixel phones (everything but the 2016 OGs).
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We're always on the lookout for what's to come with the future of Android, and if you're a developer, you may want to check out Android Studio right now. The Android R Preview SDK just appeared in the SDK Manager, meaning there's likely some new stuff to poke through.
Google I/O isn't the only event where new tools, toys, and APIs come out for developers targeting the largest mobile operating system in the world; the Android Dev Summit has also become a venue for an assortment of important software releases and announcements. Last year's event included a number of topics ranging from support for folding phones to the new Generic System Images, and much more. This year hits on just as many subjects, but some of the top announcements will center around Android Studio 4.0, new Jetpack APIs, and Jetpack Compose.