Posted by Dave Burke, VP of Engineering
At present marks the second chapter of the Android 15 story with the discharge of Android 15 Developer Preview 2!
Android 15 continues our work to construct a platform that helps enhance your productiveness whereas providing you with new capabilities to supply superior media and AI experiences, reap the benefits of system kind components, reduce battery influence, maximize easy app efficiency, and shield person privateness and safety, all on probably the most numerous lineup of gadgets on the market.
Android continues so as to add options enabling your apps to reap the benefits of premium system {hardware}, together with the newest telecommunications options, high-end media capabilities, dazzling shows, foldable/filppable kind components, and AI processing.
Your suggestions on the Android 15 Developer Preview and Beta program performs a key function in serving to Android repeatedly enhance. The Android 15 developer web site has extra details about the preview, together with downloads for Pixel and detailed documentation about modifications. This preview is just the start, and we’ll have tons extra to share as we transfer by means of the discharge cycle. Thanks upfront on your assist in making Android a platform that works for everybody.
Updating Android communications
Android 15 updates the platform to provide your app entry to the newest advances in communication.
Satellite tv for pc help
Android 15 continues to increase platform help for satellite tv for pc connectivity and contains some UI parts to make sure a constant person expertise throughout the satellite tv for pc connectivity panorama.
Apps can use ServiceState.isUsingNonTerrestrialNetwork() to detect when a tool is linked to a satellite tv for pc, giving them extra consciousness of why full community companies could also be unavailable. Moreover, Android 15 offers help for SMS/ MMS functions in addition to preloaded RCS functions to make use of satellite tv for pc connectivity for sending and receiving messages.
Smoother NFC experiences
Android 15 is working to make the faucet to pay expertise extra seamless and dependable whereas persevering with to help Android’s sturdy NFC app ecosystem. On supported gadgets, apps can request the NfcAdapter enter observe mode, the place the system will pay attention however not reply to NFC readers, sending the app’s NFC service PollingFrame objects to course of. The PollingFrame objects
can be utilized to auth forward of the primary communication to the NFC reader, permitting for a one faucet transaction in lots of circumstances.
Developer productiveness
Whereas most of our work to enhance your productiveness facilities round instruments like Android Studio, Jetpack Compose, and the Android Jetpack libraries, we all the time search for methods within the platform that will help you extra simply understand your imaginative and prescient.
PDF Enhancements
Android 15 Developer Preview 2 contains an early preview of considerable enhancements to the PdfRenderer APIs, giving apps capabilities to include superior options akin to rendering password-protected information, annotations, kind enhancing, looking, and choice with copy. Linearized PDF optimizations are supported to hurry native PDF viewing and cut back useful resource use.
The PdfRenderer has been moved to a module that may be up to date utilizing Google Play system updates unbiased of the platform launch, and we’re supporting these modifications again to Android R by making a suitable pre-Android 15 model of the API floor, known as PdfRendererPreV.
We worth your suggestions on the enhancements we have made to the PdfRenderer API floor, and we plan to make it a lot simpler to include these APIs into your app with an upcoming Android Jetpack library. Keep tuned.
Automated language switching refinements
Android 14 added on-device multi-language audio recognition with computerized switching between languages, however this will trigger phrases to get dropped, particularly when languages change with much less of a pause between the 2 utterances. Android 15 has added extra controls to permit apps to assist tune this switching for his or her use case. EXTRA_LANGUAGE_SWITCH_INITIAL_ACTIVE_DURATION_TIME_MILLIS confines the automated switching to the start of the audio session, whereas EXTRA_LANGUAGE_SWITCH_MATCH_SWITCHES deactivates the language switching after an outlined variety of switches. This generally is a helpful refinement, significantly if the expectation is that there shall be a single language spoken through the session that ought to be autodetected.
Granular line break controls
Beginning in Android 15, the TextView and the underlying line breaker can protect the given portion of textual content in the identical line to enhance readability. You possibly can reap the benefits of this line break customization through the use of the <nobreak> tag in string assets or createNoBreakSpan. Equally, you possibly can protect phrases from hyphenation through the use of the <nohyphen> tag or createNoHyphenationSpan.
Examples and screenshots:
<assets>
<string title="pixel8pro">The ability and brains behind Pixel 8 Professional.</string>
</assets>
<assets>
<string title="pixel8pro">The ability and brains behind <nobreak>Pixel 8 Professional.</nobreak></string>
</assets>
Expanded IntentFilter Performance
Android 15 builds-in help for extra exact Intent decision by means of UriRelativeFilterGroup, which include a set of UriRelativeFilter objects that kind a set of Intent matching guidelines that should every be glad, together with URL question parameters, URL fragments, and blocking/exclusion guidelines. This helps functions higher sustain with the dynamic calls for of web-hosted deep hyperlinks.
These guidelines might be outlined within the AndroidManifest with the brand new <uri-relative-filter-group> tag which may optionally embrace an android:enable tag. These tags can include tags that use current knowledge tag attributes in addition to the new android:question and android:fragment attributes.
An instance of the AndroidManifest syntax that shall be supported:
<intent-filter>
<motion android:title="android.intent.motion.VIEW" />
<class android:title="android.intent.class.BROWSABLE" />
<knowledge android:scheme="http" />
<knowledge android:scheme="https" />
<knowledge android:area="astore.com" />
<uri-relative-filter-group>
<knowledge android:pathPrefix="/auth" />
<knowledge android:question="area=na" />
</uri-relative-filter-group>
<uri-relative-filter-group android:enable="false">
<knowledge android:pathPrefix="/auth" />
<knowledge android:question="mobileoptout=true" />
</uri-relative-filter-group>
<uri-relative-filter-group android:enable="false">
<knowledge android:pathPrefix="/auth" />
<knowledge android:fragmentPrefix="faq" />
</uri-relative-filter-group>
</intent-filter>
Extra OpenJDK API help
Android 15 continues so as to add OpenJDK APIs. Developer Preview 2 contains help for added math/strictmath strategies, numerous util updates together with sequenced assortment/map/set, ByteBuffer help in Deflater, and safety key updates. These APIs are up to date on over a billion gadgets operating Android 12+ by means of Android 15 by means of Google Play System updates so you possibly can goal the newest programming options.
Giving your app extra flexibility on extra screens
Android 15 provides your apps the help to get probably the most out of Android’s kind components, together with giant screens, flippables, and foldables.
Cowl display help
Your app can declare a property that Android 15 makes use of to permit your Utility or Exercise to be offered on the small cowl screens of supported flippable gadgets. These screens are too small to be thought-about as suitable targets for Android apps to run on, however your app can opt-in to supporting them, making your app out there in additional locations.
A extra personal, safe Android
We’re all the time seeking to give customers extra transparency and management over their knowledge whereas enhancing the core safety features of the platform.
Display screen report detection
Android 15 provides help for apps to detect that they’re being recorded. A callback is invoked each time the app transitions between being seen or invisible inside a display recording. (An app is taken into account seen if actions owned by the registering course of’s UID are being recorded.) This fashion, in case your app is performing a delicate operation, you possibly can inform the person that they are being recorded.
val mCallback = Shopper<Int> { state ->
if (state == SCREEN_RECORDING_STATE_VISIBLE) {
// we're being recorded
} else {
// we’re not being recorded
}
}
override enjoyable onStart() {
tremendous.onStart()
val initialState =
windowManager.addScreenRecordingCallback(mainExecutor, mCallback)
mCallback.settle for(initialState)
}
override enjoyable onStop() {
tremendous.onStop()
windowManager.removeScreenRecordingCallback(mCallback)
}
Making Android extra environment friendly
We’re introducing new APIs that may aid you collect insights about your apps, persevering with to optimize the best way background functions work, and offering APIs to assist make duties in your app extra environment friendly to execute.
ApplicationStartInfo API
App startup on Android has all the time been a little bit of a thriller. There was no simple strategy to know inside your app whether or not it began from a chilly, heat, or sizzling state. It was tough to understand how lengthy your app spent through the varied launch phases: forking the method, calling onCreate, drawing the primary body, and extra. When your software class was instantiated, you had no method of realizing whether or not the app began from a broadcast, a content material supplier, a job, a backup, boot full, an alarm, or an Exercise.
The ApplicationStartInfo API on Android 15 provides you all of this and extra. You possibly can even select so as to add your personal timestamps into the move to make it simple to gather timing knowledge in a single place. Along with accumulating metrics, you should use ApplicationStartInfo to assist straight optimize app startup; for instance, you possibly can eradicate the pricey instantiation of UI-related libraries inside your Utility class when your app is beginning up as a result of a broadcast.
Modifications to package deal stopped state
Android 15 contains a number of enhancements to the PackageManager’s Stopped State. Apps which might be in a Stopped State ought to solely be leaving this state by means of direct person motion. Moreover, apps getting into the Stopped State could have their PendingIntents eliminated. To assist builders re-register their pending intents, apps will now obtain the BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast as soon as they’re faraway from the Stopped State. Lastly, the brand new ApplicationStartInfo may also embrace the ApplicationStartInfo.wasForceStopped() to let builders know that their app was put into the Stopped State.
Detailed app dimension data
Android has supplied an API, StorageStats.getAppBytes(), that summarizes the put in dimension of an app as a single variety of bytes, which is a sum of the APK dimension, the dimensions of information extracted from the APK, and information that have been generated on the system akin to ahead-of-time (AOT) compiled code. This quantity is just not very insightful when it comes to how your app is utilizing storage.
Android 15 provides the StorageStats.getAppBytesByDataType([type]) API, which lets you get perception into how your app is utilizing up all that house, together with apk file splits, AOT and speedup associated code, dex metadata, libraries, and guided profiles.
Modifications to foreground companies
Android 14 started requiring Foreground Service Varieties. The documentation mentions that the dataSync Foreground Service kind shall be deprecated in a future model of Android.
To help migrating away from the dataSync Foreground Service kind, Android 15 contains the mediaProcessing Foreground Service kind, which is used to carry out time-consuming operations on media property, like changing media to completely different codecs. In a future Beta launch, this service could have a runtime restrict of 6 hours.
SQLite database
Android 15 introduces new SQLite APIs that expose superior options from the underlying SQLite engine that concentrate on particular efficiency points that may manifest in apps.
Builders ought to seek the advice of finest practices for SQLite efficiency to get probably the most out of their SQLite database, particularly when working with giant databases or when operating latency-sensitive queries.
- Row counts and IDs: new APIs have been added to retrieve the depend of modified rows or the final inserted row ID with out issuing an extra question. getLastChangedRowCount() will return the variety of rows that have been inserted, up to date, or deleted by the latest SQL assertion inside the present transaction, whereas getTotalChangedRowCount() will return the depend on the present connection. getLastInsertRowId() will return the “rowid” of the final row to be inserted on the present connection.
- Uncooked statements: subject a uncooked SQlite assertion, bypassing comfort wrappers and any extra processing overhead that they could incur.
Media refinements
Every launch of Android focuses on enhancing the media expertise.
HDR Headroom Management
Android 15 chooses HDR headroom that’s applicable for the underlying system capabilities and bit-depth of the panel; for pages which have numerous SDR content material akin to a messaging app displaying a single HDR thumbnail, this will find yourself adversely influencing the perceived brightness of the SDR content material. Android 15 lets you management the HDR headroom with setDesiredHdrHeadroom to strike a steadiness between SDR and HDR content material.
Loudness Management
Android 15 introduces help for the CTA-2075 loudness commonplace that will help you keep away from audio loudness inconsistencies and guarantee customers do not should continuously alter quantity when switching between content material. The system leverages recognized traits of the output gadgets (headphones, speaker) together with loudness metadata out there in AAC audio content material to intelligently alter the audio loudness and dynamic vary compression ranges.
To allow this function, you have to guarantee loudness metadata is out there in your AAC content material and allow the platform function in your app. For this, you instantiate a LoudnessCodecController object by calling its create manufacturing unit methodology with the audio session ID from the related AudioTrack; this routinely begins making use of audio updates. You possibly can cross an OnLoudnessCodecUpdateListener to switch/filter loudness parameters earlier than they’re utilized on the MediaCodec.
// media comprises metadata of kind MPEG_4 OR MPEG_D
val mediaCodec = ...
val audioTrack = AudioTrack.Builder()
.setSessionId(sessionId)
.construct()
...
// create new loudness controller that applies the parameters to the MediaCodec
attempt {
val lcController = LoudnessCodecController.create(mSessionId)
// begins making use of audio updates for every added MediaCodec
AndroidX media3 ExoPlayer will quickly be up to date to leverage LoudnessCodecController APIs for a seamless app integration.
Use Spatializer as an alternative of Virtualizer
Android 12 included the Spatializer class, which permits querying the capabilities and habits of sound spatialization on the system. In Android 15, we’re deprecating the Virtualizer class; as an alternative use AudioAttributes.Builder.setSpatializationBehavior to characterize the way you need your content material to be performed when spatialization is supported.
AndroidX media3 ExoPlayer 1.0 permits spatial audio by default for multichannel audio when the system helps it. See the weblog publish and documentation for extra data, together with APIs to regulate the function.
Consumer Expertise
AutomaticZenRules enable apps to customise Consideration Administration (Do Not Disturb) guidelines and determine when to activate/deactivate them. Android 15 drastically enhances these guidelines with the purpose of enhancing the person expertise. It does this by:
- Including varieties to AutomaticZenRule, permitting the system to use particular therapy to some guidelines
- Including an icon to AutomaticZenRule, serving to to make the modes be extra recognizable
- Including a triggerDescription string to AutomaticZenRule that describes the situations on which the rule ought to turn out to be lively for the person
- Added ZenDeviceEffects to AutomaticZenRule, permitting guidelines to set off issues like grayscale show, night time mode, or dimming the wallpaper
Habits modifications
As a result of backward compatibility is so vital to us, we attempt to restrict impactful habits modifications, however some are inevitable.
Elegant fonts in every single place
As soon as your app targets Android 15, the elegantTextHeight TextView attribute turns into true by default, changing the compact font utilized by default with some scripts which have giant vertical metrics with one that’s far more readable. The compact font was launched to forestall breaking layouts; Android 13 prevents many of those breakages by permitting the textual content format to stretch the vertical peak using the fallbackLineSpacing attribute. In Android 15, the compact font nonetheless stays within the system, so your app can set elegantTextHeight to false to get the identical habits as earlier than, however it’s unlikely to be supported in upcoming releases. So, in case your software helps the next scripts: Arabic, Lao, Myanmar, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Telugu or Thai, please check your functions by setting elegantTextHeight to true.
Examples and screenshots
Default habits as of Android 14
Default habits for functions that concentrate on Android 15
App compatibility
To present you extra time to plan for app compatibility work, we’re letting you already know our Platform Stability milestone nicely upfront.
At this milestone, we’ll ship remaining SDK/NDK APIs and likewise remaining inside APIs and app-facing system behaviors. We’re anticipating to succeed in Platform Stability in June 2024, and from that point you’ll have a number of months earlier than the official launch to do your remaining testing. The discharge timeline particulars are right here.
The Developer Preview has all the pieces you have to attempt the Android 15 options, check your apps, and provides us suggestions. You may get began right this moment by flashing a system picture onto a Pixel 6, 7, or 8 collection system, together with the Pixel Fold and Pixel Pill. We aren’t providing sideload photos for Developer Preview 2. In case you don’t have a Pixel system, you possibly can use the 64-bit system photos with the Android Emulator in Android Studio. In case you’ve already put in Android 15 Developer Preview 1, you must get an over-the-air replace to Android 15 Developer Preview 2.
For the very best growth expertise with Android 15, we advocate that you simply use the newest preview of Android Studio Jellyfish (or more moderen Jellyfish+ variations). When you’re arrange, listed below are a number of the issues you must do:
- Attempt the brand new options and APIs – your suggestions is important through the early a part of the developer preview. Report points in our tracker on the suggestions web page.
- Check your present app for compatibility – study whether or not your app is affected by modifications in Android 15; set up your app onto a tool or emulator operating Android 15 and extensively check it.
We’ll replace the preview system photos and SDK repeatedly all through the Android 15 launch cycle. This preview launch is for builders solely and never meant for each day or shopper use, so we’re making it out there by handbook obtain solely. When you’ve manually put in a preview construct, you’ll routinely get future updates over-the-air for all later previews and Betas. Learn extra right here.
In case you intend to maneuver from the Android 14 QPR Beta program to the Android 15 Developer Preview program and do not need to should wipe your system, we advocate that you simply transfer to Developer Preview 2 now. In any other case you could run into time durations the place the Android 14 Beta could have a more moderen construct date which can forestall you from going on to the Android 15 Developer Preview with out doing an information wipe.
As we attain our Beta releases, we’ll be inviting customers to attempt Android 15 as nicely, and we’ll open up enrollment for the Android Beta program at the moment. For now, please word that the Android Beta program is just not but out there for Android 15.
For full data, go to the Android 15 developer web site.
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