Author/Android Product Manager Jamal Eason

In the #11WeeksOfAndroid series, we covered contacts and identities, privacy and security, Android 11 compatibility, the development language, and Jetpack. This installment focuses on Android developer tools. We’ll be bringing you #11WeeksOfAndroid, an in-depth look at Android’s key technology points, and you won’t miss anything.

Important update

During 11 Weeks of Android, we rolled out a series of developer tool updates in Android Studio. Today, you can download Android Studio 4.0 and 4.1 from the Stable and beta channels, respectively. You can also download Version 4.2 from the Canary channel to experience the latest features. These releases focus on balancing the productivity of the application with delivering a quality product that developers can trust. In the past, we have also highlighted improvements and practical advice for key parts of the development process, ranging from application design, coding, deployment, construction, application testing with simulator testing, and application performance analysis. This article will focus on these recent important updates.

Video and document resources

For an overview of the new features added to Android Developer tools in recent releases of Android Studio, check out the excellent and in-depth demo at the #Android11 event.

Tencent Video address: v.qq.com/x/page/h313…

New features in Android development tools

design

During Android Developer Tools Week, we started by focusing on app design tools for developers. You can learn about the latest updates to the design tool by watching the video:

Tencent Video address: v.qq.com/x/page/v313…

New features in design tools

Here are two more in-depth posts related to design tools:

  • Improve the user experience of the Design Tools suite in Android Studio 4.1: Details changes to the layout editor, explorer, navigation editor, and keyboard shortcuts to speed up the interface design process.

  • Motion Editor: Help you quickly learn about the new Motion Editor and how to use this latest feature to create animations for your applications.

To debug the layout, you can watch the video on layout inspector updates; You can also watch the design Tool video to learn about the latest developments in the Jetpack Compose design tool.

Coding and deployment

We recently published a number of practical tips and tricks for improving the coding experience and application deployment process in Android Studio. You can view the details in the official documentation.

You can also learn how to use the new database inspector in Android Studio in this new video.

We also released an update on the development tools for Jetpack Hilt:

  • Dagger and Hilt navigation support in Android Studio: Highlights practical advice and tool accelerators for using the Dagger and Hilt APIS in Android Studio.

build

We recently published four articles on the build system in the Android Developer Tools, including:

  • A new API in the Android Gradle plug-in: Details a new domain-specific language (DSL) interface and documentation, as well as new directions for extending the built-in build API.
  • Better analyze your Build with Build Analyzer: Provides a complete description of the new Build tool to help you find bottlenecks in the Build process.
  • Deep dive into cache configuration: This technical article explains this new preview feature in Gradle and how you can try it out in your projects to speed up builds.
  • Compression with R8: An overview of the features available in R8 to reduce code size and how to enable them in R8.

Android emulator

You can also see the technical section below for more best practices and practical advice on using the Android emulator:

  • Developing for Android 11 with Android Emulator: An overview of the new features of the Android emulator (such as 5G connectivity and support for foldable devices) and other benefits of incorporating it into your daily development workflow.

Performance analyzer

We know that improving application performance is the key to a good user experience. So, at the end of Android Developer Tools Week, we’ve covered performance profilers. Watch the video to learn about system tracing and how to use the tool to troubleshoot application performance problems.

In addition, we also published an article on C++ memory analysis:

  • Native memory analysis with Android Studio 4.1: describes how to diagnose memory problems in C++ code using the new native memory profiler.

Begin to learn

See the “Developer tools” learning plan for more details. Developers can complete an orderly tutorial of predefined modules and complete quizzes when the modules are finished. Tutorials include videos and blog posts, and passing the quiz will earn you a virtual badge. How much do you know about “developer tools”? Join the quiz and win a limited edition badge.

knowledge

Thank you for checking out the latest developments in Android development tools. All of the features we’ve shown you in recent days can be found in the latest stable version of Android Studio or in the Canary distribution channel. To get started with any recent updates, download Android Studio now.

Let’s take a quick look at the main features of each version. Note that features in the test version may not appear in a particular version until quality requirements are met:

Features in Android Studio 4.0 (Stable Channels)

  • Motion Editor
  • Layout Inspector
  • Layout Validation
  • Custom view preview
  • Updates to CPU profiler
  • R8 rule editing
  • Build Analyzer
  • Dynamic functional dependency
  • Clangd support
  • Intellij 2019.3

Features in Android Studio 4.1 (beta channel)

  • Database Inspector
  • Dependency Injection Tools
  • Faster Apply Changes
  • Gradle Configuration Cache (Preview)
  • Custom view preview
  • The Android emulator integrates with the IDE
  • Instrumentation Testing
  • Analyzer UI update
  • Native Memory Profiling
  • System Trace 2.0
  • New Gradle API
  • MLKit and TFLite model import
  • Intellij 2020.1

Features in Android Studio 4.2 and above (Canary channels)

  • Compose interactive preview
  • Visual support for Compose animation
  • Deploy Compose to the device
  • Sample data API for Compose
  • Compose editing support
  • Test failure Retention
  • Android Emulator – support for 5G connectivity and foldable devices
  • Intellij 2020.2 – Coming soon

For more information

You can check out the full playlist of #11WeeksOfAndroid video content, or head over to the official website to learn more about the topic in detail. We will continue to focus on more new areas, please pay attention, also please continue to pay attention to us, looking forward to your feedback. Thank you for being with us.