Android Stage - Day 2 (Google I/O 2025)

WHAT'S NEW IN ANDROID DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

Key Concepts:

• Android Studio roadmap (Initial Platform Release, Feature Drop Release)
• AI-powered assistance with Gemini in Android Studio
• Gemini 2.5 Pro
• Update Assistant (Automated library updates)
• Journeys (Natural language integration tests)
• Test Recorder
• Firebase Device Streaming (Remote device testing)
• ADB Wi-Fi (Wireless debugging)
• Compose Adaptive Library
• Android Studio Cloud
• Gradual R8 (Code shrinking)
• Phased Sync (Build process optimization)
• Fused Libraries (AAR merging)
• C++ development updates (16KB page size support)
• Gemini in Android Studio for Businesses
• Sync Settings

Android Studio Roadmap and Releases

• Android Studio has doubled its release cadence, with two types of releases:
  • Initial Platform Release: Aligned with the latest Android platform and includes bug fixes.
  • Feature Drop Release: Includes Android-specific features.
• Recent releases include Android Studio Ladybug and Meerkat.
• Android Studio Ladybug (Feature Drop):
  • Features around Wear OS preview and Health Services.
  • Improved App Links Assistant for testing app links.
  • Integrated Google Play SDK Insights into the IDE.
  • Addressed over 700 bugs.
• Android Studio Meerkat:
  • Jetpack Compose previews and enhancements.
  • New template for adding Kotlin Multiplatform to existing projects.
  • Streamlined build menu.

AI-Powered Assistance with Gemini

• Android Studio is building AI-powered assistance with Gemini.
• AI is applied to various developer workflows, including code suggestions, documentation generation, and crash resolution.
• The philosophy is not "one-size-fits-all," catering to both prototyping new ideas (zero to one) and improving existing codebases (one to production).
• Features address different mindsets, from rapid prototyping to production-level quality.

Gemini 2.5 Pro and Usability Improvements

• Gemini 2.5 Pro enables more advanced features.
• Usability improvements include:
  • Translucent code assist and syntax highlighting.
  • Rewritten chat in Compose with animations.
  • Streaming code snippets in chat.
  • Improved scrolling behavior in chat.
  • Context tour to show implicitly attached files.

Update Assistant

• The Update Assistant automates library updates, especially when there are source-breaking changes.
• It analyzes build files and proposes updates for AGP, Gradle, and Bill of Materials (BOM).
• Blue libraries are hyperlinked to release notes.
• The agent builds the project, reasons about errors, and provides explanations along the way.
• The Update Agent has been upgraded to leverage Gemini 2.5 Pro, resulting in a more advanced agent.
• A summary is provided at the end to review the changes.

Android Studio Cloud

• Android Studio Cloud allows running Android Studio in the cloud.
• Firebase Studio is used to open Android Studio workspaces in the cloud.
• Backup and sync are implemented to sync settings between local and remote instances using a Google account.

Journeys

• Journeys allow describing user journeys in natural language for integration tests.
• Journey files are XML-based and can be edited graphically.
• The demo shows a journey for testing custom filters in a podcast app.
• Progress is shown live during test execution.
• Test results are shown live, including before, during, and after pictures.

Test Recorder

• The Test Recorder makes it easy to create journeys.
• It can append to existing journeys or create blank journeys.
• The recorder captures inputs and processes them using Gemini.
• Manual verifications can be added.
• Journeys are being integrated with other Google teams, such as the Firebase App Distribution team.

New Agent

• The new agent can fix code, write unit tests, and fix warnings.
• It uses IDE facilities like "go to declaration" and compiler integration.
• The agent can figure out where to put tests in real-world projects.
• It can run tests and fix bugs automatically.
• The agent can fix lint warnings in XML files.

Crashlytics Integration

• Crashlytics integration explains crashes and suggests fixes.
• It uses source code to provide accurate explanations and suggestions.
• It accounts for line number drift when source files have changed since the crash happened.

Compose Integration

• Compose integration includes auto-generating previews with reasonable sample data.
• A button is provided to auto-generate previews for composables.

Firebase Device Streaming

• Firebase Device Streaming allows connecting to remote devices in Google's device labs.
• Device Partner Labs are being launched, including devices from Samsung, OPPO, 1+, Vivo, and Xiaomi.
• The demo shows connecting to a Samsung Galaxy S25 in Korea.

ADB Wi-Fi

• ADB Wi-Fi has been reworked for improved speed and reliability.
• The entire stack has been reworked, including Studio, ADB, and the Android operating system.
• The pairing flow has been reworked to ensure the device and Studio are on the same network.
• The device name is now listed in the device manager.

Compose

• Compose previews can be resized interactively to see how layouts behave.
• Markers are shown on the surface to indicate foldable sizes.

Backup and Restore

• Backup and restore features make it easier to implement backup correctly.
• Users can take backups and restore them.
• Run configurations can be used to restore app data from a backup file.
• Test support is being added for automated backup and restore testing.

XR

• The XR emulator can be run inside of Studio.
• The app can be put into multi-window mode.
• Input modes include view dex and app dex.
• The layout inspector works for XR.

Gradual R8

• Gradual R8 shrinks libraries while looking at the roles, leaving other parts unaffected.

Phased Sync

• Phased Sync segments the sync process into smaller phases, allowing the IDE to load a functional project faster.

Fused Libraries

• Fused Libraries allow merging several AAR libraries into one core single library.

C++ Development Updates

• Studio will warn if you build without 16KB page support.
• The APK analyzer has been updated to tell you which .SO files are ready to be updated.

Gemini in Android Studio for Businesses

• Gemini in Android Studio for Businesses is available with enterprise management controls, code security, and a tailored AI-powered development experience.

Sync Settings

• Sync Settings allows syncing settings between local and remote versions of Android Studio using a Google account.

Conclusion:

The presentation covers a wide range of new features and updates in Android development tools, focusing on AI-powered assistance with Gemini, improved usability, automated library updates, enhanced testing capabilities, and support for new device form factors like XR and foldables. The updates aim to streamline development workflows, improve app quality, and enable developers to create adaptive experiences across the expanding Android ecosystem.

ADAPTIVE ADROID DEVELOPMENT MAKES YOUR APP SHINE ACROSS DEVICES

Key Concepts:

• Adaptive Android Development
• Device Ecosystem (Phones, Tablets, Foldables, Chromebooks, Connected Displays, XR, Auto)
• Compose Adaptive Library
• Navigation 3
• Window Size Classes
• Availability (Android Manifest features)
• Input (Touch, Keyboard, Trackpad, Stylus)
• Resizability (Orientation, Aspect Ratio)
• Android 16 Changes
• Game Adaptability (Unity, JetPack Window Manager)

Introduction to Adaptive Android Development

• Adaptive Android Development aims to make apps run well across the expanding Android device ecosystem.
• It considers users who own multiple devices and aims to provide exceptional experiences.
• Adaptive doesn't just mean dividing functionality; it embraces people with multiple devices.
• Users with more than one device are often the most engaged users.

Expanding Device Landscape

• Adaptive Apps can now access new device capabilities as they extend to more classes of Android devices.
• Android for Cars: Adaptive mobile apps in permitted categories can be distributed on both Android Automotive OS and Android Auto while parked.
• Large Screen Devices: In Android 16, significant advancements in desktop windowing allow apps to run in fully free-form windows.
• Connected Displays: When a phone, foldable, or tablet is plugged into an external display, the desktop windowing environment will also appear on the connected monitor or TV.
• Android XR: Headsets add a new dimension to Android, placing apps into a fully immersive virtual environment. Mobile apps form the foundation of the Home Space app experience in XR.

The Adaptive Mindset

• Adaptive is a strategy for app development that takes into account the whole, expanding Android device ecosystem.
• It aims to make your apps run across it, regardless of the screen size or input method.
• It has a holistic view of how your users often own more than one of these devices.
• It considers new novel devices that haven't even been created yet and aims to lay down strong engineering foundations for the future.
• The goal is for one app to run across all form-factors: phones, tablets, foldables, Chromebooks, connected displays, XR, and auto.

Live Demo: Socialite App

• A live demo showcases one single codebase (Socialite app) running across six different devices.
• The app uses the Compose Adaptive Library and the List Detail Layout.
• Devices include:
  • XR emulator (Home Space)
  • Android Auto parked mode emulator
  • Phone
  • Foldable
  • Tablet (desktop windowing)
  • Chromebook (fully free-form desktop)

Compose Adaptive Library

• The Material Adaptive Library allows dropping existing composables into Canonical Layouts.
• It attempts to handle all of the resizing and navigation for you.
• One single app bundle works across all of those six devices.
• Form-factor specific APIs can still be used on XR or foldables.

Navigation 3

• Navigation 3 library in alpha is built to integrate with these Compose Adaptive Layouts.
• It makes it easier to find Journeys across the screens with less boilerplate.
• Showing more than one pane at a time is a foundational principle in the library.
• You do not have to change your navigation destination setup if you have separate lists and detail destinations.
• You can modify the navigation setups tore capable of rendering multiple destinations at once.
• Metadata indicates how navigation should treat our pane through metadata.
• Integration with Navigation 3 is available in snapshots.

New Pane Adaptation Strategies: Levitate and Reflow

• Compose Adaptive Library 1.2 (alpha) adds two new pane adaptation strategies:
  • Levitate: Takes an app pane and leviTates it up to a vertical window or dialogue level or something like a bottom sheet type implementation.
  • Reflow: Allows you to take content and specify how they are organized next to each other on a narrower screen.

Compose and XR

• XR Component Overrides in the Compose adaptive libraries.
• The navigation rail gets pulled out into an orbiter, the mail chat spaces and the List Detail panes get pulled out into spatialized panes.
• To enable it you wrap your app in EnableXRComponentOverrides and when the app transitions between 2D and deleted, the -- 3D the overrides do the rest built into the Compose Adaptive Library.

Jetpack Compose Advantages

• Compose is built in layers, meaning the runtime and foundational libraries are shared across Android surfaces.
• Improvements to these libraries benefit every form-factor.
• Compose has strong input support out of the box.
• All of your layout logic is in a single place using Kotlin code.

Window Size Classes

• Window size classes are a standardized set of breakpoints that bucket different window sizes.
• You can catclate the current window size class using AndroidX.window and the current size of the window with local window info.
• Width is urnl a usually more important. Expanded width at 840 dp or higher and compact width at anything smaller than 600.
• Two new window size classes in AndroidX.window 1.5 that subdivide the expanded width size class bucket further to help adapt layouts to window sizes common on large tablets and desktop displays.
• An extra large width is 1600 dp or wider large is then between 1200 dp up to 1600 dp and that means that when you're using these expanded is now between 840 and 1200.
• At a large window size class width or bigger, there's now enough horizontal space for the navigation rail to expand into a permanent navigation drawerality an extra large window size class width there's November horizontal space that you can have 3 Beyonce side by side -- 3 panes depending on the content within them.

Testing and Validation

• Previews can be used to get quick feedback across a wide variety of sizes and aspect ratios.
• Screenshot tests allow verifying visuals across different window sizes.
• DeviceConfigurationOverride can be used to override configuration values to simulate behavior on different window sizes.
• Journeys with Gemini in Android Studio Narwhal feature drop allows defining tests using natural language.

Availability Considerations

• Declaring features as required when your app doesn't actually need them can limit availability.
• Features like GPS, camera, telephony that your app doesn't strictly need if it's declared in your Android Manifest, it won't show up on the store on certain devices.
• Add required=false to features that are not strictly required.

Input Considerations

• Apps need to handle touch input, keyboard, and trackpad input.
• Stylus input is also more common on these devices.
• The new ink API provides a rich modularized library with lots of features.

Resizability Considerations

• Apps should Reflow and reshape accordingly in desktop windowing.
• In XR, apps run in two different modes, Home Space and full space.
• Android 16 changes: the platform will no longer react to restrictions for orientation resizebility and aspect ratios.
• Starting in Android 16 when targeting SDK 36 restricting orientation aspect ratio and resizebility will no longer always be allowed.
• On displays that are at least 600 dp in both dimensions requests for any of the portrait or landscape orientation values will be ignored, and the activity will be -- will be given the user's preferred orientation anyway in addition restrictions to resizebility and aspect ratio will also be ignored this means that activities will will be allowed to be any aspect ratio and resizable in even more situations than they were before.
• Behavior remains unchanged for display environments that are not smaller than 600 dp.
• A temporary opt-out manifest flag is available to delay these changes taking effect until targetSDK 37.
• Users will continue to have the ability to override the app behavior.
• These change will not apply to games because so many games are designed for full screen immersive or specific device orientations, games are currently not opted into this change by default.

Game Adaptability

• Games expect their games and game engines to seamlessly adapt and be able to handle all of those configuration changes you really don't want to lose your progress if you unfold a foldable or rotate a tablet.
• Enhanced configuration handling has been added into Unity 6.
• The JetPack Window Manager Library can be used to add adaptive gaming experiences.

Adaptive App Examples

• Luminar: An AI photo editing app written in JetPack Compose from the ground up.
• Cubasis 3: A digital audio workstation available on mobile that looks great on large screens.
• DJay's app: Recently added a foldable integration where when you do the tabletop you can get the turntables right under your thumbs just in case you can't control a mini controller with you and only had to do minimal changes to get their app working in XR Home Space.

Conclusion:

The presentation emphasizes the importance of adaptive Android development to provide great user experiences across a growing range of devices and form factors. It highlights the Compose Adaptive Library, Navigation 3, and other tools that can help developers build adaptive apps. The presentation also covers important considerations for availability, input, and resizability, as well as significant changes coming in Android 16 that will require apps to be more flexible and adaptable.

Under the Hood with Google AI on Android

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