What’s new in Android Growth Instruments

Posted by Mayank Jain – Product Supervisor, Android Studio

At Google I/O 2024, we introduced an thrilling new set of options and instruments aimed toward making Android improvement sooner and simpler. We additionally shared updates to Android Studio that may assist you leverage AI and make it simpler so that you can construct prime quality apps for Android throughout the Android ecosystem.

You may try the What’s new in Android Developer Instruments session at Google I/O 2024 to see a few of the new options in motion or higher but, strive them out your self by downloading Android Studio Koala 🐨 Characteristic Drop within the preview launch channel. Right here’s a have a look at our bulletins:

Leverage Gemini in Android Studio

Since launching AI options in Android Studio final yr, we proceed to evolve our underlying fashions, combine your suggestions, and broaden availability to extra international locations and territories in an effort to leverage AI in your workflow and grow to be a extra productive Android app developer. Utilizing the built-in AI privateness controls, you’ll be able to choose in to utilizing the most recent AI function enhancements which might be tailor-made to your Android app challenge.

Code ideas with Gemini in Android Studio

Now you can present customized prompts for Gemini in Android Studio to generate code ideas. After you allow Gemini from the View > Software Home windows > Gemini software window, right-click within the code editor and choose Gemini > Remodel chosen code from the context menu to see the immediate area. You may then immediate Gemini to generate a code suggestion that both provides new code or transforms chosen code. You may ask Gemini to simplify advanced code by rewriting it, carry out very particular code transformations corresponding to “make this code idiomatic,” or generate new capabilities you describe. Android Studio then exhibits you Gemini’s code suggestion as a code diff, in an effort to evaluation and settle for solely the ideas you need.

Gemini for suggestions on crash studies

App High quality Insights in Android Studio seamlessly incorporates each Firebase Crashlytics and Android Vitals knowledge into Android Studio so you’ll be able to entry an important app stability associated data, with out having to modify instruments.

Now you can use Gemini in Android Studio to investigate your crash studies, generate insights that are proven within the Gemini software window, present a crash abstract, and when attainable suggest subsequent steps, together with pattern code and hyperlinks to related documentation.

You may generate all of this data straight from the App High quality Insights software window in Android Studio after you allow Gemini from View > Software Home windows > Gemini.

Combine Gemini API into your app with a starter template

Begin prototyping with Gemini fashions in your apps with our new starter app template supplied in Android Studio. On this app template, you’ll be able to concern prompts on to the Gemini API, add picture sources as enter, and show the responses on the display screen. Moreover, use Google AI Studio to craft customized prompts to your app.

When you find yourself able to scale your AI options to manufacturing with Google Cloud infrastructure, you too can entry the highly effective capabilities of Gemini fashions by Vertex AI. That is Google’s fully-managed improvement platform designed for constructing and deploying generative AI. Whether or not you merely want world class inference capabilities, or wish to construct end-to-end AI workflows with Vertex, the Gemini API is a superb answer.

Gemini 1.5 Professional coming to Android Studio

We beforehand introduced that Gemini in Android Studio makes use of the Gemini 1.0 Professional mannequin that can assist you by answering Android improvement questions, producing code, discovering sources, or explaining greatest practices. On this preview stage of Gemini in Android Studio, we’re providing Gemini 1.0 Professional at no-cost for all customers for now. Gemini 1.0 Professional is a flexible mannequin, making it preferrred to scale. Nonetheless we acknowledge that its high quality of responses could also be restricted in some circumstances. Based mostly in your suggestions, we’re dedicated to bettering the standard for Android improvement, and excited so as to add extra options utilizing Gemini to make your developer expertise much more productive.

Alongside this journey, the Gemini 1.5 Professional mannequin can be coming to Android Studio later this yr. Outfitted with a Massive Context Window, this mannequin notably results in greater high quality responses, and unlocks use circumstances like multimodal enter that you simply may need seen within the Google I/O 2024 periods. Keep tuned for extra updates on how one can entry extra succesful fashions in Android Studio.

Productiveness enhancements

Launch Monitoring with Firebase

At this time we introduced the overall availability of the Firebase Launch Monitoring Dashboard. The Firebase Launch Monitoring Dashboard is a single dashboard powered by Firebase Crashlytics to observe your most up-to-date manufacturing releases of your Android app. It updates in actual time to offer you a high-level view of an important launch metrics, like crash-free periods, comparisons, and benchmarking primarily based in your earlier releases.

Android System Streaming

Android System Streaming, powered by Firebase, allows you to securely hook up with distant bodily Android units hosted in Google’s knowledge facilities. It’s a handy approach to take a look at your app in opposition to bodily models of a few of the newest Android units, together with the Google Pixel 8 and eight Professional, Pixel Fold, and extra.

Beginning right this moment, Android System Streaming now contains the next units, along with the portfolio of 20+ system fashions already accessible:

• Samsung Galaxy Fold5
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely
• Google Pixel 8a

Moreover, should you’re new to Firebase, Android Studio mechanically creates and units up a no-cost Firebase challenge for you while you check in to Koala Characteristic Drop to make use of System Streaming. So, you may get to streaming the system you want a lot sooner. Study extra about Android System Streaming quotas, together with promotional quota for the Firebase Blaze plan tasks accessible for a restricted time.

USB cable velocity detection

Do you know that USB cable bandwidth varies from 480 Mbps (USB-2) to as much as 40,000 Mbps (USB-4)? Android Studio Koala Characteristic Drop now makes it trivial to distinguish low performing USB cables from the excessive performing ones.

Once you join an Android system, Android Studio mechanically detects the system and USB cable bandwidth and warns you if there’s a mismatch in USB bandwidth.

Be aware: USB cable velocity detection requires an up to date ADB present in Android SDK Platform Instruments v34+, and is presently accessible for macOS and Linux.

A brand new approach to check in with Google in Android Studio

It’s now simpler to check in to a number of Google companies with one authentication step. Whether or not you wish to use Gemini in Android Studio, Firebase for Android System Streaming, Google Play for Android Vitals studies, or all these helpful companies, the brand new check in stream makes it simpler to rise up and operating. If you happen to’re new to Firebase and wish to use Android System Streaming, Android Studio mechanically creates a challenge for you, so you’ll be able to shortly begin streaming an actual bodily Firebase system. With granular permissions scoping, you’ll all the time be in charge of which companies have entry to your account. To get began, simply click on the profile avatar and check in together with your developer account.

System UI setting shortcut

Utilizing the system UI setting shortcut, now you can effortlessly configure your units to desired settings associated to darkish theme, font dimension, show dimension, app language, and extra, all straight by the Working Gadgets window. Now you can take a look at and debug your UI seamlessly for any of the attainable situations required by your use case.

Quicker and improved Profiler with a task-centric method

The internals of the Android Studio Profiler have been dramatically improved. Common profiling duties like capturing a system hint with profileable apps now begin as much as 60% sooner.*

We’ve redesigned the profiler to make it simpler to begin the duty you’re eager about, whether or not it’s profiling your app’s CPU, reminiscence, or energy utilization. For instance, initiating a system hint activity to profile and enhance your app’s startup time is built-in proper within the UI as you open the profiler.

Google Play SDK Index integration

Android Studio is built-in with the Google Play SDK Index to tell when there are identified coverage or model points with SDKs utilized by your app. This lets you replace these dependencies and keep away from points that would forestall you from publishing new variations of your app.

Within the Android Studio Koala Characteristic Drop launch, the mixing has been expanded to additionally embody warnings from the Google Play SDK Console. This offers you an entire view of any potential model or coverage points in your dependencies earlier than submitting your app to the Google Play Console.

Notes from SDK authors are actually additionally displayed straight in Android Studio to save lots of you time.

Preview tiles for Put on OS apps

Android Studio now has preview help for Tiles. Now you can iterate a lot faster when creating tiles, enabling you to shortly see what a Tile seems like on completely different configurations while not having to run it on a tool.

Generate artificial sensor knowledge for testing on Put on OS apps

To assist simulate actual life situations now you can generate artificial (pretend) knowledge for a Put on OS emulator for well being associated sensors corresponding to coronary heart price, velocity, steps, and extra. You are actually in a position to arrange and carry out testing for a multi-sport coaching session in minutes, end-to-end in Android Studio, with out ever leaving your desk.

Compose Look widget previews

Android Studio Koala Characteristic Drop makes it simple to preview your Jetpack Compose Look widgets (1.1.0-rc01) straight inside the IDE. Catch potential UI points and fine-tune your widget’s look early within the improvement course of. Study extra about tips on how to get began.

Dwell Edit for Compose enabled by default

Dwell Edit for Compose can speed up your Compose improvement expertise by mechanically deploying code modifications to the operating software on an emulator or bodily system. Dwell Edit will help you see the impact of updates to UX parts—for instance new composables, modifier updates, and animations—on the general app expertise. As you grow to be extra accustomed to Dwell Edit you will see that many inventive methods it may well assist enhance your improvement expertise and productiveness.

In Android Studio Koala Characteristic Drop, Dwell Edit is enabled by default in guide mode and has elevated stability and extra strong change detection, together with help for import statements.

Compose preview screenshot testing plugin (alpha)

Host-side screenshot testing is a straightforward and highly effective approach to take a look at UIs and stop regressions. At this time, the primary alpha model of the Compose Preview Screenshot Testing plugin is offered as a separate plugin, for use along with AGP 8.5.0-beta01 or greater. Add your Compose Previews to the src/fundamental/screenshotTest folder and run the duty to generate a diff report after UI updates. The generated HTML take a look at report allows you to visually detect any modifications to your app’s UI.

This alpha model of the plugin is designed for fast iteration and suggestions. We plan to merge it again into AGP sooner or later, however for now, this separate plugin lets us experiment and enhance the function shortly. Study extra about tips on how to get began.