Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Administration, Android Developer
The second developer preview of Android 16 is now out there to check along with your apps. This construct consists of adjustments designed to reinforce the app expertise, enhance battery life, and increase efficiency whereas minimizing incompatibilities, and your suggestions is important 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 gadgets within the subject. To assist seize difficult hint eventualities comparable to 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 embody 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 kind, begin occasions, throttling, and different helpful diagnostic information. Android 16 provides getStartComponent() to differentiate what element kind triggered the beginning, which could be useful for optimizing the startup movement of your app.
Richer Haptics
Android has uncovered restricted management over the haptic actuator since its inception.
Android 11 added help for extra complicated haptic results that extra superior actuators can help via 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 system capabilities.
Higher job introspection
Android 16 introduces JobScheduler#getPendingJobReasons(int jobId) which might return a number of the reason why a job is pending, resulting from each express 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 adjustments.
The API may also help you debug why your jobs will not be executing, particularly in the event you’re seeing diminished success charges with sure duties or latency points with job completion as properly. This will additionally higher make it easier to perceive if sure jobs should not finishing resulting from system outlined constraints versus explicitly set constraints.
Adaptive refresh fee
Adaptive refresh fee (ARR), launched in Android 15, allows 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 doubtlessly jank-inducing mode-switching.
Android 16 DP2 introduces hasArrSupport() and getSuggestedFrameRate(int) whereas restoring getSupportedRefreshRates() to make it simpler in your apps to reap the benefits 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 help into extra Jetpack libraries. This body fee article covers most 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 elements:
- Which app standby bucket the applying is in; lively standby buckets might be given a beneficiant runtime quota.
- Jobs began whereas the app is seen to the person 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 want to carry out a knowledge switch which will take a very long time think about using a person initiated information switch.
Be aware: To grasp additional debug and check 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 would not perform successfully and calling this methodology might be ignored.
This elimination of performance additionally applies to JobInfo#isImportantWhileForeground(). Beginning in Android 16, if the tactic is named, 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 will create inconsistent person experiences for customers of TalkBack and Android’s display reader, and alternate options higher serve a broader vary of person wants throughout a wide range of Android’s assistive applied sciences.
Examples of alternate options:
The deprecated announceForAccessibility API consists of extra element on urged alternate options.
Cloud search in picture picker
The picture picker supplies a protected, built-in means for customers to grant your app entry to chose photos and movies from each native and cloud storage, as an alternative of their total media library. Utilizing a mix of Modular System Parts via Google System Updates and Google Play companies, it is supported again to Android 4.4 (API degree 19). Integration requires just some traces of code with the related Android Jetpack library.
The developer preview consists of new APIs to allow looking out from the cloud media supplier for the Android picture picker. Search performance within the picture picker is coming quickly.
Ranging with enhanced safety
Android 16 provides help for strong safety features in WiFi location on supported gadgets with WiFi 6’s 802.11az, permitting apps to mix the upper accuracy, larger scalability, and dynamic scheduling of the protocol with safety enhancements together with AES-256-based encryption and safety towards MITM assaults. This enables it for use extra safely in proximity use instances, comparable to unlocking a laptop computer or a car 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 report requires the beginning time, the top time and whether or not the exercise depth is average or vigorous.
Well being Join additionally accommodates up to date APIs supporting well being information. This enables apps to learn and write medical information in FHIR format with express person consent. This API is at present in an early entry program. Join if you would like to be a part of our early entry program.
Predictive again additions
Android 16 provides new APIs that can assist 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 at any time when the system handles a again navigation with out impacting the conventional again navigation movement.
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 fall. The Q2 main launch would be the solely launch in 2025 to incorporate deliberate habits adjustments that might have an effect on apps. The This fall minor launch will choose up function updates, optimizations, and bug fixes; it is not going to embody any app-impacting habits adjustments.
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 system companions to deliver the Q2 launch to as many gadgets 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 every year, and that might be tied to the main API degree.
Learn how to prepare
Along with performing compatibility testing on the subsequent main launch, just remember to’re compiling your apps towards the brand new SDK, and use the compatibility framework to allow targetSdkVersion-gated habits adjustments as they develop into out there for early testing.
App compatibility
The Android 16 Preview program runs from November 2024 till the ultimate public launch subsequent yr. At key growth milestones, we’ll ship updates in your growth and testing environments. Every replace consists of SDK instruments, system photos, emulators, API reference, and API diffs. We’ll spotlight important 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 last SDK/NDK APIs and in addition last inner 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 last 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. In case you are at present on Developer Preview 1, you’ll mechanically get an over-the-air replace to Developer Preview 2. We’re searching for your suggestions so please report points and submit function requests on the suggestions web page. The sooner we get your suggestions, the extra we will embody within the last launch.
For the most effective growth expertise with Android 16, we advocate that you just use the most recent preview of the Android Studio Ladybug function drop. When you’re arrange, listed here are a few of the issues you must do:
- Compile towards the brand new SDK, check in CI environments, and report any points in our tracker on the suggestions web page.
- Take a look at your present app for compatibility, be taught whether or not your app is affected by adjustments in Android 16, and set up your app onto a tool or emulator operating Android 16 and extensively check it.
We’ll replace the preview system photos and SDK recurrently all through the Android 16 launch cycle. This preview launch is for builders solely and never meant for each day client use. We’re making it out there by guide 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.
In the event you’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 system.
As we attain our Beta releases, we’ll be inviting shoppers to attempt Android 16 as properly, 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 web site.