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.

Android Emulator first added support for foldable devices in April 2019, but now it properly simulates the hinge sensor properties added in Android 11. "If a foldable device is configured," Google wrote in an announcement, "the emulator now sends hinge angle sensors updates and posture changes to the guest. Existing foldable devices will now update hinge sensor angle and posture when the toolbar's fold or unfold buttons are pressed." However, the feature requires an Android 11 system image that hasn't been released yet.

There are plenty of performance improvements in the new update as well. Google has added initial support for virtio-gpu, which should improve speed and compatibility when emulating graphics, once the proper integrations are present in device images. INVTSC is also enabled by default on macOS, which can improve the accuracy of time measurements in some cases.

Finally, Google has fixed over three dozen bugs in the emulator that affected the clipboard, emulated devices with rounded corners/notches, audio, and other features. The announcement also mentioned that support for Macs with Apple Silicon is in progress.

Source: Android Developers