Posted by Sameer Samat, Vice President, Product Management
When we started Android and Google Play more than a decade ago, we made a bet that a free and open mobile ecosystem could compete with the proprietary walled gardens that dominated the industry. It wasn’t yet clear what kinds of businesses would move to mobile or what apps would be successful. To keep things simple, we went with an easy-to-understand business model: The vast majority of developers could distribute their apps on Google Play for free (currently 97% do so at no charge). For the developers who offered a paid app or sold in-app digital goods (currently just 3% of developers), the flat service fee was 30%. This model helped apps to become one of the fastest-growing software segments. And instead of charging licensing fees for our OS, our service fee allowed us to continually invest in Android and Play while making them available for free to device makers all over the world.
The creativity and innovation from developers around the world spurred amazing new app experiences we could have never imagined when we first introduced Android. As the ecosystem evolved, a wider range of business models emerged to support these different types of apps. We've made important changes along the way, including moving beyond a “one size fits all” service fee model to ensure all types of businesses can be successful. Instead of a single service fee, we now have multiple programs designed to support and encourage our diverse app ecosystem.
The result is that 99% of developers qualify for a service fee of 15% or less. And after learning from and listening to developers across many industries and regions, including developers like Anghami, AWA, Bumble, Calm, Duolingo, KADOKAWA, KKBOX, Picsart, and Smule, we're announcing additional changes to further support our ecosystem of partners and help them build sustainable businesses, and ensure Play continues to lead in the mobile app ecosystem.
Decreasing service fees on subscriptions to 15%
Digital subscriptions have become one of the fastest growing models for developers but we know that subscription businesses face specific challenges in customer acquisition and retention. We’ve worked with our partners in dating, fitness, education and other sectors to understand the nuances of their businesses. Our current service fee drops from 30% to 15% after 12 months of a recurring subscription. But we’ve heard that customer churn makes it challenging for subscription businesses to benefit from that reduced rate. So, we’re simplifying things to ensure they can.
To help support the specific needs of developers offering subscriptions,starting on January 1, 2022, we're decreasing the service fee for all subscriptions on Google Play from 30% to 15%, starting from day one.
For developers offering subscriptions, this means that first-year subscription fees will be cut in half. We’ve already gotten positive feedback from our developer partners on this change:
“Our partnership with Google has been a powerful one for our business, helping us to scale and ultimately playing a key role in advancing our mission to empower women globally. The pricing change they’ve announced will allow us to better invest in our products and further empower users to confidently connect online.”
– Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO, Bumble Inc.
"Just as every person learns in different ways, every developer is different as well. We're excited to see Google continuing to collaborate with the ecosystem to find models that work for both the developer and platform. This reduction in subscription fees will help Duolingo accelerate our mission of universally available language learning."
- Luis von Ahn, Co-Founder and CEO of Duolingo.
Going further with cross platform experiences
While apps remain incredibly important for mobile phones, great services must now also span TVs, cars, watches, tablets and more. And we recognize that developers need to invest in building for those platforms now more than ever.
Earlier this year we launched the Play Media Experience program to encourage video, audio and book developers alike to help grow the Android platform by building amazing cross-device experiences. This helped developers invest in these multi-screen experiences with a service fee as low as 15%.
Today, we’re also making changes to the service fee in the Media Experience program, to better accommodate differences in these categories. Ebooks and on-demand music streaming services, where content costs account for the majority of sales, will now be eligible for a service fee as low as 10%. The new rates recognize industry economics of media content verticals and make Google Play work better for developers and the communities of artists, musicians and authors they represent. You can go here for more information.
We will continue to engage with developers to understand their challenges and opportunities — and how we can best support them in building sustainable businesses. It’s a theme that will be front and center at the Android Developer Summit on October 27-28, where you’ll hear more about our latest tools, application programming interfaces (APIs) and technologies designed to help developers be more productive and create better apps.
If you’re looking for more information about Google Play and its service fees, we've answered some common questions here.
Excited for Android Dev Summit on October 27-28? Us too! But, before we get there, we need your help. Team Jetpack is in a brutal fight against the bugs of chaos… they are outnumbered and they need you to join their forces, defeat the bugs, and help Android restore order to the universe. Will you answer the call?
Create your own Team Jetpack superhero, with a custom look and feel, and add your own mix of Android coding power boosts to unlock magical superpowers. Once you’re done, you’ll get a digital trading card for your superhero to share on Twitter, and you’ll be all set to join us at #AndroidDevSummit and help restore order to the universe. Go to goo.gle/ads21 to make yours!
#AndroidDevSummit agenda + sessions announced!
We just posted the livestream agenda, released the full technical talk details, and added additional speakers to the lineup for Android Dev Summit. Take a look and start planning your days. Android Dev Summit kicks off with a 50-minute technical keynote, The Android Show. After the show, we’ll be posting 30+ technical sessions for you to watch at your own pace, from Material You in Jetpack Compose to Kotlin Flows in practice.
Over the two day event, we have a number of ways for you to tune in and hear your favorite Android development topics discussed live from the team who built Android. Got questions about Modern Android Development, Large Screens, or Material You? Ask them on Twitter now using #AskAndroid to get them answered live on the air. We’ll also host live Android Code-Alongs. Tune in to watch Android experts as they code, tackle programming challenges, and answer your questions live across Jetpack Compose and Compose for Wear OS.
We can’t wait to connect with you in just over a week! For the full agenda with timings, check out the Android Dev Summit page. And of course, don’t forget: if you run into the bugs of chaos before then, let them know that together with Team Jetpack, we’re coming for them at Android Dev Summit…
Android 12, which starts rolling out on Pixel 3 and above today, delivers even more personal, safe and effortless experiences on your device. It features a totally reimagined and personalized user interface, new privacy features that are designed for your safety, and more seamless ways to get right into your gameplay or even switch to a new device. Here are a dozen of our favorite new features that are coming to Android 12:
Our most personal OS yet
Three phones each showing a series of widgets on a green floral homescreen
Material You brings redesigned widgets that are dynamic and customizable.
Four phones showing the new Material You design across different phone UI surfaces
Change your wallpaper and see the entire Android 12 experience change to match its colors.
A phone zoomed in on a weather widget in the middle of the screen
A new window magnifier lets you zoom in on a part of your screen.
When you change your wallpaper, the entire Android 12 experience changes to match its colors, thanks to advanced color extraction algorithms and the gorgeous Material You design. Easily personalize the look and feel of your entire phone, including the lockscreen, notifications, settings, widgets and even apps. This new dynamic color experience is available on Pixel first and will be coming to more device makers and phones soon.
Make way for new widgets! Material You brings redesigned widgets that are more dynamic and customizable than ever. By the end of this month, you’ll be able to try out over a dozen totally new or refreshed widgets from your favorite Google apps right on your home screen.
New visibility features make Android 12 more accessible than ever. A new window magnifier lets you zoom in on a part of your screen while preserving the rest of the screen context. Extra dim screen lighting is perfect for night-time scrolling or other situations when even the lowest brightness setting is too bright. You can even adjust text to bold or colors to grayscale for easier reading.
Privacy that puts you in control
Phone showing a video recording and microphone & camera indicators popping up in the status bar
A new indicator will tell you when an app is using your microphone or camera.
Phone toggling between precise and approximate permission options.
Choose between giving apps access to your precise location, or an approximate location.
Phone showing the new privacy dashboard which highlights location, camera and microphone permissions usage.
With the new privacy dashboard, you can check your privacy permissions in one place.
4. You can now see when an app is using your microphone or camera thanks to a new indicator in your phone’s status bar. And if you don’t want any apps to access your microphone or camera, you can completely disable those sensors using two new toggles in Quick Settings. Simply flip the switch.
5. Keep your precise location private. Android 12 allows you to choose between giving apps access to your precise location or an approximate location instead.
6. Check out your privacy permissions at a glance. A new privacy dashboard gives you a clear and comprehensive view of when apps access your location, camera or mic over the past 24 hours. If you see anything that you’re not comfortable with, you can manage permissions right from the dashboard.
7. While your wireless headphones need to connect to your phone, they probably don’t need to know where you are. New Bluetooth permissions in Android 12 allow companion apps to connect to devices like watches or headphones without needing to access your location information.
8. Have apps that you haven’t used in a while, or forgot about? Unused apps’ permissions are reset and cached files are removed to help free up space on your device.
Making everything on your phone a little easier
A phone showing a screenshot getting extended across a page.
Capture all the content on the page in one screenshot.
Two phones showing simultaneous downloads of the same game. The phone of the right jumps into gameplay while the phone of the left continues to download
Some games will allow you to get into gameplay right away while you still download.
A set of phones showing a Wi-Fi password being shared across devices using nearby share
Nearby Share now makes it easier to share Wi-Fi passwords.
9. Just because you reach the end of your screen doesn’t mean you need to reach the end of your screenshot. New scrolling screenshots will allow you to capture all the content on the page in one image.
10. Spend more time playing and less time waiting for game downloads. In Android 12, select games will allow you to play as you download, so you can jump straight into gameplay without needing to wait for the full download to finish.
11. Wi-Fi credential sharing is getting a whole lot easier. No need to find that old sticky note with your passwords or make your friend type in a complicated combination of characters to login to your WiFi. With Nearby Share, just open your Wi-Fi settings, select the network you want, and tap “Share.”
12. Android 12 makes it easier than ever to transfer all your essentials, memories, messages and data to a new Android phone. All that’s needed is a Wi-Fi connection to transfer from your old phone, or your phone’s cable if you’re switching over from an iPhone.
Android 12 is packed with lots of other great features that you can learn more about at android.com/12. In addition to the rollout to Pixel devices today, Android 12 will be coming to Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo, Xiaomi devices and more later this year.
Posted by Krish Vitaldevara, Director, Product Management
We know that a big part of feeling safe online is having control over your data. That’s why every day we’re committed to empowering users with advancedsecurity and privacy controls and increased agency with respect to data practices. With the new Data safety section, developers will now have a transparent way to show users if and how they collect, share, and protect user data, before users install an app.
Starting today, we’re rolling out the Data safety form in Google Play Console. We’ve also listened to your feedback, so to provide developers with additional guidance, we’re sharing helpful information in our Help Center, developer guide, Play Academy course, and more. Following our common protocols, we'll begin gradual rollout today and expect to expand access to everyone within a couple of weeks.
How to submit your app information in Play Console
Starting today, you can go to App content in your Play Console and look for a new section called “Data safety.” We recommend that you review the guidance and submit your form early so you can get review feedback and make changes before rejected forms prevent you from publishing new app updates. Developers have told us that early feedback would help them fill out the form correctly before users see the Data safety section in February 2022. The enforcement on apps without approved forms starts April 2022.
We understand that completing the form may require a meaningful amount of work, so we built the product and timeline based on developer feedback to make this process as streamlined as possible. Also, developers have asked for a way to more easily import information when they have multiple apps. Therefore, we’ve added an option for developers to import a pre-populated file.
How to get prepared
Visit the Help Center for the latest details, including clarifications are data types and examples.
What your users will see in your app's store listing starting February
Users will first see the Data safety summary in your store listing. Your app profile will show what data an app collects or shares and highlight safety details, such as whether:
The app has security practices, like data encryption in transit
The app has been independently reviewed for conformance with a global security standard
Users can tap the summary to see more details like:
What type of data is collected and shared, such as location, contacts, personal information (e.g., name, email address), financial information, and more
How the data is used, such as for app functionality, personalization, and more
Whether data collection is optional or required in order to use an app
Users have shared that seeing this information helps them understand how some apps may handle their information and feel more trusting about certain apps.
What to expect
Timeline dates subject to change.
You can submit your Data safety form in the Play Console now for early review feedback. You are not required to submit an app update in order to submit your safety profile.
In February 2022, we will launch this feature in the Play store. If your information is approved, your store listing will automatically update with your data safety information. If your information has not been submitted or has been rejected, your users will see “No information available.”
By April 2022, all your apps must have their Data safety section approved. While we want as many apps as possible to be ready for the February 2022 consumer experience, we know that some developers will need more time to assess their apps and coordinate with multiple teams.
Also by April, all apps must also provide a privacy policy. Previously, only apps that collected personal and sensitive user data needed to share a privacy policy. Without an approved section or privacy policy, your new app submissions or app updates may be rejected. Non-compliant apps may face additional enforcement actions in the future.
Thank you for your continued partnership in building this feature alongside us and in making Google Play a safe and trustworthy platform for everyone.
We are always looking for ways to make learning Android development accessible for all. In 2020, we announced the launch of Android Basics in Kotlin, a free self-paced programming course. Since then, over 100,000 beginners have completed their first milestone in the course.
Android Basics in Kotlin teaches people with no programming experience how to build simple Android apps. Along the way, students learn the fundamentals of programming and the basics of the Kotlin programming language. Today, we’re excited to share that the final unit has been released, and the full Android Basics in Kotlin course is now available.
This course is organized into units, where each unit is made up of a series of pathways. At the end of each pathway, there is a quiz to assess what you’ve learned so far. If you complete the quiz, you earn a badge that can be saved to your Google Developer Profile.
The course is free for anyone to take. Basic computer literacy and basic math skills are recommended prerequisites, along with access to a computer that can run Android Studio. If you’ve never built an app before but want to learn how, check out the Android Basics in Kotlin course.
From split-screen multitasking with the power of Google Workspace apps to hands-free Duo calls in Flex mode, Google and Samsung continue to work together to create more helpful experiences on Android foldables. When we combine the helpfulness of Google’s apps and services with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G devices, a world of new possibilities unfolds.
Here are six great ways to experience the best of Google on Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z devices.
1. Enjoy entertainment with a bigger, better and bolder YouTube experience
The Galaxy Z Fold3 takes YouTube to the next level. Simply unfold to the immersive main screen and your video will quickly adapt to the larger display so you can really dive into whatever you're watching. The tablet-sized screen even hides the 4MP front-facing camera under the display allowing you to have an edge-to-edge cinematic viewing experience. If you want to follow along with a video while you cook, exercise or just lean back, you can prop your Galaxy Z Fold3 in Flex mode for a hands-free experience. And new users can enjoy four free months of YouTube Premium when they purchase a Galaxy Z Fold3 or Z Flip3 (terms apply).
Stop worrying about staying in the frame during video calls. You can set your Galaxy Z Fold3 or Z Flip3 down in Flex mode and keep your Duo calls going hands-free while staying in the picture. Step back and show off your apartment upgrade or pick up your pup and bring her in frame — all without the hassle of holding up your phone..
3. Boost productivity with split-screen multitasking and Google Workspace
With apps like Google Duo, Calendar, Chrome, Gmail and more, you can connect, create and collaborate on the Galaxy Z Fold3 right out of the box. Using the Edge panel, you can easily drag and drop apps into place so you can work across up to three apps at once – taking multitasking to the next level. Answer emails while you watch your favorite YouTube livestreams. Edit docs in real-time with colleagues while you discuss in a Meet conference call. Check your Calendar while texting with friends in Messages. Do it all at once with side-by-side multitasking, and just about anywhere with 5G.
4. Never get bored with millions of apps on Google Play
Your next big adventure awaits with millions of apps on Google Play. And with the 120Hz adaptive refresh rate on both the Galaxy Z Fold3 cover and main screen, you’ll have smooth gameplay. Earn Play Points as you use the Play Store, and redeem them for special items in games or Play Credit. Or enjoy over 800 games and apps free of ads and in-app purchases with Play Pass.
5. Record, edit and publish your next video with YouTube Shorts built in
Inspiration can strike at any time. With the Galaxy Z Flip3, you can unfold your ultra-portable content creator at the exact moment you need it. Open up YouTube Shorts in the YouTube app to quickly start recording, edit right in the app and upload with superfast 5G. And with Flex mode on the Galaxy Z Flip3, you don’t even need to worry about bringing a tripod with you: Simply fold your Galaxy Z Flip3 anywhere between 75 and 115 degrees, and you’ll be sure to capture your best angle.
6. Explore with Google and Augmented Reality
Unfold your Galaxy Z Flip3 and use Google’s augmented reality features built into some of your favorite apps to learn more about the world around you. With Live View in Google Maps, you can quickly orient yourself and know which way to go with directions overlaid right on top of your surroundings. If you come across something like a historical landmark, a cool new pair of sneakers or a menu that’s not in your native language, Google Lens can help you get more information about it, help you find where to buy it, or help you translate it. Just unfold and point.
To learn more about all of the helpful ways you can use Google on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Z Flip3 5G, visit unfold.withgoogle.com. And stay tuned for more as we continue to partner with Samsung to spread the news about these helpful foldable experiences.
From split-screen multitasking with the power of Google Workspace apps to hands-free Duo calls in Flex mode, Google and Samsung continue to work together to create more helpful experiences on Android foldables. When we combine the helpfulness of Google’s apps and services with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G devices, a world of new possibilities unfolds.
Here are six great ways to experience the best of Google on Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z devices.
1. Enjoy entertainment with a bigger, better and bolder YouTube experience
The Galaxy Z Fold3 takes YouTube to the next level. Simply unfold to the immersive main screen and your video will quickly adapt to the larger display so you can really dive into whatever you're watching. The tablet-sized screen even hides the 4MP front-facing camera under the display allowing you to have an edge-to-edge cinematic viewing experience. If you want to follow along with a video while you cook, exercise or just lean back, you can prop your Galaxy Z Fold3 in Flex mode for a hands-free experience. And new users can enjoy four free months of YouTube Premium when they purchase a Galaxy Z Fold3 or Z Flip3 (terms apply).
Stop worrying about staying in the frame during video calls. You can set your Galaxy Z Fold3 or Z Flip3 down in Flex mode and keep your Duo calls going hands-free while staying in the picture. Step back and show off your apartment upgrade or pick up your pup and bring her in frame — all without the hassle of holding up your phone..
3. Boost productivity with split-screen multitasking and Google Workspace
With apps like Google Duo, Calendar, Chrome, Gmail and more, you can connect, create and collaborate on the Galaxy Z Fold3 right out of the box. Using the Edge panel, you can easily drag and drop apps into place so you can work across up to three apps at once – taking multitasking to the next level. Answer emails while you watch your favorite YouTube livestreams. Edit docs in real-time with colleagues while you discuss in a Meet conference call. Check your Calendar while texting with friends in Messages. Do it all at once with side-by-side multitasking, and just about anywhere with 5G.
4. Never get bored with millions of apps on Google Play
Your next big adventure awaits with millions of apps on Google Play. And with the 120Hz adaptive refresh rate on both the Galaxy Z Fold3 cover and main screen, you’ll have smooth gameplay. Earn Play Points as you use the Play Store, and redeem them for special items in games or Play Credit. Or enjoy over 800 games and apps free of ads and in-app purchases with Play Pass.
5. Record, edit and publish your next video with YouTube Shorts built in
Inspiration can strike at any time. With the Galaxy Z Flip3, you can unfold your ultra-portable content creator at the exact moment you need it. Open up YouTube Shorts in the YouTube app to quickly start recording, edit right in the app and upload with superfast 5G. And with Flex mode on the Galaxy Z Flip3, you don’t even need to worry about bringing a tripod with you: Simply fold your Galaxy Z Flip3 anywhere between 75 and 115 degrees, and you’ll be sure to capture your best angle.
6. Explore with Google and Augmented Reality
Unfold your Galaxy Z Flip3 and use Google’s augmented reality features built into some of your favorite apps to learn more about the world around you. With Live View in Google Maps, you can quickly orient yourself and know which way to go with directions overlaid right on top of your surroundings. If you come across something like a historical landmark, a cool new pair of sneakers or a menu that’s not in your native language, Google Lens can help you get more information about it, help you find where to buy it, or help you translate it. Just unfold and point.
To learn more about all of the helpful ways you can use Google on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Z Flip3 5G, visit unfold.withgoogle.com. And stay tuned for more as we continue to partner with Samsung to spread the news about these helpful foldable experiences.
Posted by Jeremy Walker, Developer Relations Engineer
At this year’s Google I/O, we announced we are bringing the best of Jetpack Compose to Wear OS. Well, today, Compose for Wear OS is in Developer Preview after a number of successful alpha releases.
Compose simplifies and accelerates UI development, and the same is true of Compose for Wear OS, with built-in support for Material You to help you create beautiful apps with less code.
In addition, what you’ve learned building mobile apps with Jetpack Compose translates directly to the Wear OS version. Just like mobile, you’re welcome to start testing it out right away, and we want to incorporate your feedback into the early iterations of the libraries before the beta release.
This article will review the main composables we've built and point you towards resources to get started using them.
Let's get started!
Dependencies
Most of the Wear related changes you make will be at the top architectural layers.
That means many of the dependencies you already use with Jetpack Compose don't change when targeting Wear OS. For example, the UI, Runtime, Compiler, and Animation dependencies will remain the same.
However, you will need to use the proper Wear OS Material, Navigation, and Foundation libraries which are different from the libraries you have used before in your mobile app.
Below is a comparison to help clarify the differences:
1. Developers can continue to use other material related libraries like material ripple and material icons extended with the Wear Compose Material library.
While it's technically possible to use the mobile dependencies on Wear OS, we always recommend using the wear-specific versions for the best experience.
Note: We will be adding more wear composables with future releases. If you feel any are missing, please let us know.
Here's an example build.gradle file:
// Example project in app/build.gradle file
dependencies {
// Standard Compose dependencies...
// Wear specific Compose Dependencies
// Developer Preview starts with Alpha 07, with new releases coming soon.
def wear_version = "1.0.0-alpha07"
implementation "androidx.wear.compose:compose-material:$wear_version"
implementation "androidx.wear.compose:compose-foundation:$wear_version"
// For navigation within your app...
implementation "androidx.wear.compose:compose-navigation:$wear_version"
// Other dependencies...
}
After you've added the right Wear Material, Foundation, and Navigation dependencies, you are ready to get started.
Composables
Let's explore some composables you can start using today.
As a general rule, many of the Wear composables that are equivalent to the mobile versions can use the same code. The code for styling color, typography, and shapes with MaterialTheme is identical to mobile as well.
For example, to create a Wear OS button your code looks like this:
The code above is very similar to the mobile side, but the library creates a Wear OS optimized version of the button, that is, a button circular in shape and sized by ButtonDefaults to follow Wear OS Material Guidelines.
Below are several composable examples from the library:
We also offer a wear optimized composable for lists, ScalingLazyColumn, which extends LazyColumn and adds scaling and transparency changes to better support round surfaces. You can see in the app below, the content shrinks and fades at the top and bottom of the screen to help readability:
If you look at the code, you can see it's the same as LazyColumn, just with a different name.
Wear has its own version of Box, SwipeToDismissBox, which adds support for the swipe-to-dismiss gesture (similar to the back button/gesture on mobile) out of the box.
Here's a simple example of the code:
// Requires state (different from Box).
val state = rememberSwipeToDismissBoxState()
SwipeToDismissBox(
modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize(),
state = state
) { swipeBackgroundScreen ->
// Can render a different composable in the background during swipe.
if (swipeBackgroundScreen) {
/* ... */
Text(text = "Swiping Back Content")
} else {
/* ... */
Text( text = "Main Content")
}
}
Here's a more complex example of the behavior:
Navigation
Finally, we also offer a Navigation composable, SwipeDismissableNavHost, which works just like NavHost on mobile but also supports the swipe-to-dismiss gesture out of the box (actually uses SwipeToDismissBox under the hood).
Scaffold provides a layout structure to help you arrange screens in common patterns, just like mobile, but instead of an App Bar, FAB, or Drawer, it supports Wear specific layouts with top-level components like Time, Vignette, and the scroll/position indicator.
The code is very similar to what you would write on mobile.
Get Started
We're excited to bring Jetpack Compose to Wear OS and make watch development faster and easier. To dive right in and create an app, check out our quick start guide. To see working examples (both simple and complex), have a look at our sample repo.
The Developer Preview is your opportunity to influence the APIs, so please share your feedback here or join the Slack#compose-wear channel and let us know there!
Posted by Vikrant Rana, Product Manager, and Badi Azad, Group Product Manager
Summary
Google Identity strives to be the best stewards for Google Account users who entrust us to protect their data. At the same time, we want to help our developer community build apps that give users amazing experiences. Together, Google and developers can provide users three important ways to manage sharing their data:
Give users control in deciding who has access to their account data
Make it easier and safer for users to share their Google Account data with your app when they choose to do so
Make it clear to users the specific data they are sharing with apps
What we are doing today
In service of that stewardship, today we are announcing an OAuth consent experience that simplifies how users can share data with apps. This experience also improves the consent conversion for apps that use incremental authorization, which requests only one scope. Users can now easily share this kind of request with a single tap.
Previous Screen New Screen
A quick recap
Let’s summarize a few past improvements so you have a full picture of the work we have been doing on the OAuth consent flow.
In mid-2019, we significantly overhauled the consent screen to give users fine-grained control over the account data they chose to share with a given app. In that flow, when an app requested access to multiple Google resources, the user would see one screen for each scope.
In July 2021, we consolidated these multiple-permission requests into a single screen, while still allowing granular data sharing control for users. Our change today represents a continuation of improvements on that experience.
The Identity team will continue to gather feedback and further enhance the overall user experience around Google Identity Services and sharing account data.
What do developers need to do?
There is no change you need to make to your app. However, we recommend using incremental authorization and requesting only one resource at the time your app needs it. We believe that doing this will make your account data request more relevant to the user and therefore improve the consent conversion. Read more about incremental authorization in our developer guides.
If your app requires multiple resources at once, make sure it can handle partial consent gracefully and reduce its functionality appropriately as per the OAuth 2.0 policy.
Today we’re pushing the source to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and officially releasing the latest version of Android. Keep an eye out for Android 12 coming to a device near you starting with Pixel in the next few weeks and Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi devices later this year.
As always, thank you for your feedback during Android 12 Beta! More than 225,000 of you tested our early releases on Pixel and devices from our partners, and you sent us nearly 50,000 issue reports to help improve the quality of the release. We also appreciate the many articles, discussions, surveys, and in-person meetings where you voiced your thoughts, as well as the work you’ve done to make your apps compatible in time for today’s release. Your support and contributions are what make Android such a great platform for everyone.
We’ll also be talking about Android 12 in more detail at this year’s Android Dev Summit, coming up on October 27-28. We’ve just released more information on the event, including a snapshot of the technical Android sessions; read on for more details later in the post.
What’s in Android 12 for developers?
Here’s a look at some of what’s new in Android 12 for developers. Make sure to check out the Android 12 developer site for details on all of the new features.
A new UI for Android
Material You - Android 12 introduces a new design language called Material You, helping you to build more personalized, beautiful apps. To bring all of the latest Material Design 3 updates into your apps, try an alpha version of Material Design Components and watch for support for Jetpack Compose coming soon.
Redesigned widgets - We refreshed app widgets to make them more useful, beautiful, and discoverable. Try them with new interactive controls, responsive layouts for any device, and dynamic colors to create a personalized but consistent look. More here.
Notification UI updates - We also refreshed notification designs to make them more modern and useful. Android 12 also decorates custom notifications with standard affordances to make them consistent with all other notifications. More here.
Stretch overscroll - To make scrolling your app’s content more smooth, Android 12 adds a new “stretch” overscroll effect to all scrolling containers. It’s a natural scroll-stop indicator that’s common across the system and apps. More here.
App launch splash screens - Android 12 also introduces splash screens for all apps. Apps can customize the splash screen in a number of ways to meet their unique branding needs. More here.
Performance
Faster, more efficient system performance - We reduced the CPU time used by core system services by 22% and the use of big cores by 15%. We’ve also improved app startup times and optimized I/O for faster app loading, and for database queries we’ve improved CursorWindow by as much as 49x for large windows.
Optimized foreground services - To provide a better experience for users, Android 12 prevents apps from starting foreground services while in the background. Apps can use a new expedited job in JobScheduler instead. More here.
More responsive notifications - Android 12’s restriction on notification trampolines helps reduce latency for apps started from a notification. For example, the Google Photos app now launches 34% faster after moving away from notification trampolines. More here.
Performance class - Performance Class is a set of device capabilities that together support demanding use-cases and higher quality content on Android 12 devices. Apps can check for a device’s performance class at runtime and take full advantage of the device’s performance. More here.
Faster machine learning - Android 12 helps you make the most of ML accelerators and always get the best possible performance through the Neural Networks API. ML accelerator drivers are also now updatable outside of platform releases, through Google Play services, so you can take advantage of the latest drivers on any compatible device.
Privacy
Privacy Dashboard - A new dashboard in Settings gives users better visibility over when your app accesses microphone, camera, and location data. More here.
Approximate location - Users have even more control over their location data, and they can grant your app access to approximate location even if it requests precise location. More here.
Microphone and camera indicators - Indicators in the status bar let users know when your app is using the device camera or microphone. More here.
Microphone and camera toggles - On supported devices, new toggles in Quick Settings make it easy for users to instantly disable app access to the microphone and camera. More here.
Nearby device permissions - Your app can use new permissions to scan for and pair with nearby devices without needing location permission. More here.
Better user experience tools
Rich content insertion - A new unified API lets you receive rich content in your UI from any source: clipboard, keyboard, or drag-and-drop. For back-compatibility, we’ve added the unified API to AndroidX. More here.
Support for rounded screen corners - Many modern devices use screens with rounded corners. To deliver a great UX on these devices, you can use new APIs to query for corner details and then manage your UI elements as needed. More here.
AVIF image support - Android 12 adds platform support for AV1 Image File Format (AVIF). AVIF takes advantage of the intra-frame encoded content from video compression to dramatically improve image quality for the same file size when compared to older image formats, such as JPEG.
Compatible media transcoding - For video, HEVC format offers significant improvements in quality and compression and we recommend that all apps support it. For apps that can’t, the compatible media transcoding feature lets your app request files in AVC and have the system handle the transcoding. More here.
Easier blurs, color filters and other effects - new APIs make it easier to apply common graphics effects to your Views and rendering hierarchies. You can use RenderEffect to apply blurs, color filters, and more to RenderNodes or Views. You can also create a frosted glass effect for your window background using a new Window.setBackgroundBlurRadius() API, or use blurBehindRadius to blur all of the content behind a window.
Enhanced haptic experiences - Android 12 expands the tools you can use to create informative haptic feedback for UI events, immersive and delightful effects for gaming, and attentional haptics for productivity. More here.
New camera effects and sensor capabilities - New vendor extensions let your apps take advantage of the custom camera effects built by device manufacturers—bokeh, HDR, night mode, and others. You can also use new APIs to take full advantage of ultra high-resolution camera sensors that use Quad / Nona Bayer patterns. More here.
Better debugging for native crashes - Android 12 gives you more actionable diagnostic information to make debugging NDK-related crashes easier. Apps can now access detailed crash dump files called tombstones through the App Exit Reasons API.
Android 12 for Games - With Game Mode APIs, you can react to the players' performance profile selection for your game - like better battery life for a long commute, or performance mode to get peak frame rates. Play as you download will allow game assets to be fetched in the background during install, getting your players into gameplay faster.
Get your apps ready for Android 12
Now with today’s public release of Android 12, we’re asking all Android developers to finish your compatibility testing and publish your updates as soon as possible, to give your users a smooth transition to Android 12.
To test your app for compatibility, just install it on a device running Android 12 and work through the app flows looking for any functional or UI issues. Review the Android 12 behavior changes for all apps to focus on areas where your app could be affected. Here are some of the top changes to test:
Privacy dashboard — Use this new dashboard in Settings to check your app’s accesses to microphone, location, and other sensitive data, and consider providing details to users on the reasons. More here.
Microphone & camera indicators — Android 12 shows an indicator in the status bar when an app is using the camera or microphone. Make sure this doesn’t affect your app’s UI. More here.
Microphone & camera toggles — Try using the new toggles in Quick Settings to disable microphone and camera access for apps and ensure that your app handles the change properly. More here.
Clipboard read notification — Watch for toast notifications when your app reads data from the clipboard unexpectedly. Remove unintended accesses. More here.
Stretch overscroll — Try your scrolling content with the new “stretch” overscroll effect and ensure that it displays as expected. More here.
App splash screens — Launch your app from various flows to test the new splash screen animation. If necessary, you can customize it. More here.
Keygen changes — Several deprecated BouncyCastle cryptographic algorithms are removed in favor of Conscrypt versions. If your app uses a 512-bit key with AES, you’ll need to use one of the standard sizes supported by Conscrypt. More here.
Remember to test the libraries and SDKs in your app for compatibility. If you find any SDK issues, try updating to the latest version of the SDK or reaching out to the developer for help.
Tune in to Android Dev Summit to learn about Android 12 and more!
The #AndroidDevSummit is back! Join us October 27-28 to hear about the latest updates in Android development, including Android 12. This year’s theme is excellent apps, across devices; tune in later this month to learn more about the development tools, APIs and technology to help you be more productive and create better apps that run across billions of devices, including tablets, foldables, wearables, and more.
We’ve just released more information on the event, including a snapshot of the 30+ technical Android sessions; you can take a look at some of those sessions here, and start planning which talks you want to check out. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be asking you to share your top #AskAndroid questions, to be answered live by the team during the event.
The show kicks off at 10 AM PT on October 27 with The Android Show, a 50-minute technical keynote where you’ll hear all the latest news and updates for Android developers. You can learn more and sign up for updates here.
