Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Administration, Android Developer
The second developer preview of Android 16 is now accessible to check together with your apps. This construct consists of modifications designed to reinforce the app expertise, enhance battery life, and enhance efficiency whereas minimizing incompatibilities, and your suggestions is essential in serving to us perceive the complete influence of this work.
System triggered profiling
ProfilingManager was added in Android 15, giving apps the flexibility to request profiling information assortment utilizing Perfetto on public units within the discipline. To assist seize difficult hint eventualities resembling startups or ANRs, ProfilingManager now consists of System Triggered Profiling. Apps can use ProfilingManager#addProfilingTriggers() to register curiosity in receiving details about these flows. Flows coated on this launch embrace onFullyDrawn for exercise based mostly chilly begins, and ANRs.
val anrTrigger = ProfilingTrigger.Builder( ProfilingTrigger.TRIGGER_TYPE_ANR ) .setRateLimitingPeriodHours(1) .construct() val startupTrigger: ProfilingTrigger = //... mProfilingManager.addProfilingTriggers(listOf(anrTrigger, startupTrigger))
Begin element in ApplicationStartInfo
ApplicationStartInfo was added in Android 15, permitting an app to see causes for course of begin, begin sort, begin instances, throttling, and different helpful diagnostic information. Android 16 provides getStartComponent() to tell apart what element sort triggered the beginning, which could be useful for optimizing the startup move of your app.
Richer Haptics
Android has uncovered restricted management over the haptic actuator since its inception.
Android 11 added assist for extra advanced haptic results that extra superior actuators can assist by way of VibrationEffect.Compositions of device-defined semantic primitives.
Android 16 provides haptic APIs that allow apps outline the amplitude and frequency curves of a haptic impact whereas abstracting away variations between gadget capabilities.
Higher job introspection
Android 16 introduces JobScheduler#getPendingJobReasons(int jobId) which might return a number of the explanation why a job is pending, as a result of each specific constraints set by the developer and implicit constraints set by the system.
We’re additionally introducing JobScheduler#getPendingJobReasonsHistory(int jobId), which returns an inventory of the newest constraint modifications.
The API might help you debug why your jobs might not be executing, particularly when you’re seeing lowered success charges with sure duties or latency points with job completion as nicely. This may additionally higher assist you to perceive if sure jobs aren’t finishing as a result of system outlined constraints versus explicitly set constraints.
Adaptive refresh fee
Adaptive refresh fee (ARR), launched in Android 15, permits the show refresh fee on supported {hardware} to adapt to the content material body fee utilizing discrete VSync steps. This reduces energy consumption whereas eliminating the necessity for probably jank-inducing mode-switching.
Android 16 DP2 introduces hasArrSupport() and getSuggestedFrameRate(int) whereas restoring getSupportedRefreshRates() to make it simpler on your apps to make the most of ARR.
RecyclerView 1.4 internally helps ARR when it’s settling from a fling or clean scroll, and we’re persevering with our work so as to add ARR assist into extra Jetpack libraries. This body fee article covers lots of the APIs you should utilize to set the body fee in order that your app can straight leverage ARR.
Job execution optimizations
Beginning in Android 16, we’re adjusting common and expedited job execution runtime quota based mostly on the next components:
- Which app standby bucket the appliance is in; lively standby buckets can be given a beneficiant runtime quota.
- Jobs began whereas the app is seen to the consumer and continues after the app turns into invisible will adhere to the job runtime quota.
- Jobs which are executing concurrently with a foreground service will adhere to the job runtime quota. If you should carry out an information switch that will take a very long time think about using a consumer initiated information switch.
Word: To grasp tips on how to additional debug and take a look at the habits change, learn extra about JobScheduler quota optimizations.
Totally deprecating JobInfo#setImportantWhileForeground
The JobInfo.Builder#setImportantWhileForeground(boolean) methodology signifies the significance of a job whereas the scheduling app is within the foreground or when briefly exempted from background restrictions.
This methodology has been deprecated since Android 12 (API 31). Beginning in Android 16, it’s going to now not operate successfully and calling this methodology can be ignored.
This removing of performance additionally applies to JobInfo#isImportantWhileForeground(). Beginning in Android 16, if the tactic known as, the tactic will return false.
Deprecated Disruptive Accessibility Bulletins
Android 16 DP2 deprecates accessibility bulletins, characterised by means of announceForAccessibility or the dispatch of TYPE_ANNOUNCEMENT AccessibilityEvents. They’ll create inconsistent consumer experiences for customers of TalkBack and Android’s display reader, and options higher serve a broader vary of consumer wants throughout a wide range of Android’s assistive applied sciences.
Examples of options:
The deprecated announceForAccessibility API consists of extra element on prompt options.
Cloud search in photograph picker
The photograph picker offers a secure, built-in means for customers to grant your app entry to chose pictures and movies from each native and cloud storage, as a substitute of their total media library. Utilizing a mix of Modular System Elements by way of Google System Updates and Google Play providers, it is supported again to Android 4.4 (API degree 19). Integration requires only a few traces of code with the related Android Jetpack library.
The developer preview consists of new APIs to allow looking from the cloud media supplier for the Android photograph picker. Search performance within the photograph picker is coming quickly.
Ranging with enhanced safety
Android 16 provides assist for strong safety features in WiFi location on supported units with WiFi 6’s 802.11az, permitting apps to mix the upper accuracy, higher scalability, and dynamic scheduling of the protocol with safety enhancements together with AES-256-based encryption and safety in opposition to MITM assaults. This permits it for use extra safely in proximity use circumstances, resembling unlocking a laptop computer or a automobile door. 802.11az is built-in with the Wi-Fi 6 commonplace, leveraging its infrastructure and capabilities for wider adoption and simpler deployment.
Well being Join updates
Well being Join within the developer preview provides ACTIVITY_INTENSITY, a brand new datatype outlined in response to World Well being Group tips round average and vigorous exercise. Every document requires the beginning time, the tip time and whether or not the exercise depth is average or vigorous.
Well being Join additionally incorporates up to date APIs supporting well being information. This permits apps to learn and write medical information in FHIR format with specific consumer consent. This API is at the moment in an early entry program. Enroll if you would like to be a part of our early entry program.
Predictive again additions
Android 16 provides new APIs that will help you allow predictive again system animations in gesture navigation such because the back-to-home animation. Registering the onBackInvokedCallback with the brand new PRIORITY_SYSTEM_NAVIGATION_OBSERVER permits your app to obtain the common onBackInvoked name every time the system handles a again navigation with out impacting the conventional again navigation move.
Android 16 moreover provides the finishAndRemoveTaskCallback() and moveTaskToBackCallback(). By registering these callbacks with the OnBackInvokedDispatcher, the system can set off particular behaviors and play corresponding ahead-of-time animations when the again gesture is invoked.
This preview is for the subsequent main launch of Android with a deliberate launch in Q2 of 2025 and we plan to have one other launch with new developer APIs in This autumn. The Q2 main launch would be the solely launch in 2025 to incorporate deliberate habits modifications that would have an effect on apps. The This autumn minor launch will choose up function updates, optimizations, and bug fixes; it won’t embrace any app-impacting habits modifications.
We’ll proceed to have quarterly Android releases. The Q1 and Q3 updates in-between the API releases will present incremental updates to assist guarantee steady high quality. We’re actively working with our gadget companions to deliver the Q2 launch to as many units as doable.
There’s no change to the goal API degree necessities and the related dates for apps in Google Play; our plans are for one annual requirement annually, and that can be tied to the most important API degree.
prepare
Along with performing compatibility testing on the subsequent main launch, just be sure you’re compiling your apps in opposition to the brand new SDK, and use the compatibility framework to allow targetSdkVersion-gated habits modifications as they grow to be accessible for early testing.
App compatibility
The Android 16 Preview program runs from November 2024 till the ultimate public launch subsequent yr. At key improvement milestones, we’ll ship updates on your improvement and testing environments. Every replace consists of SDK instruments, system pictures, emulators, API reference, and API diffs. We’ll spotlight essential APIs as they’re prepared to check within the preview program in blogs and on the Android 16 developer web site.
We’re focusing on Late Q1 of 2025 for our Platform Stability milestone. At this milestone, we’ll ship remaining SDK/NDK APIs and likewise remaining inside APIs and app-facing system behaviors. We’re anticipating to achieve Platform Stability in March 2025, and from that point you’ll have a number of months earlier than the official launch to do your remaining testing. Be taught extra within the launch timeline particulars.
Get began with Android 16
You may get began in the present day with Developer Preview 2 by flashing a system picture and updating the instruments. If you’re at the moment on Developer Preview 1, you’ll mechanically get an over-the-air replace to Developer Preview 2. We’re in search of your suggestions so please report points and submit function requests on the suggestions web page. The sooner we get your suggestions, the extra we are able to embrace within the remaining launch.
For the very best improvement expertise with Android 16, we advocate that you simply use the newest preview of the Android Studio Ladybug function drop. When you’re arrange, listed below are a few of the issues it’s best to do:
- Compile in opposition to the brand new SDK, take a look at in CI environments, and report any points in our tracker on the suggestions web page.
- Take a look at your present app for compatibility, study whether or not your app is affected by modifications in Android 16, and set up your app onto a tool or emulator operating Android 16 and extensively take a look at it.
We’ll replace the preview system pictures and SDK repeatedly all through the Android 16 launch cycle. This preview launch is for builders solely and never meant for day by day client use. We’re making it accessible by handbook obtain. When you’ve manually put in a preview construct, you’ll mechanically get future updates over-the-air for all later previews and Betas.
For those who’ve already put in Android 15 QPR Beta 2 and wish to flash Android 16 Developer Preview 2, you are able to do so with out first having to wipe your gadget.
As we attain our Beta releases, we’ll be inviting shoppers to attempt Android 16 as nicely, and we’ll open up enrollment for Android 16 within the Android Beta program at the moment.
For full info, go to the Android 16 developer website.
