Tag Archives: Featured

Strengthening Our App Ecosystem: Enhanced Tools for Secure & Efficient Development

Posted by Suzanne Frey – VP, Product, Trust & Growth for Android & Play

Knowing that you’re building on a safe, secure ecosystem is essential for any app developer. We continuously invest in protecting Android and Google Play, so millions of users around the world can trust the apps they download and you can build thriving businesses. And we’re dedicated to continually improving our developer tools to make world–class security even easier to implement.

Together, we’ve made Google Play one of the safest and most secure platforms for developers and users. Our partnership over the past few years includes helping you:

Today, we’re excited to share more about how we're making it easier than ever for developers to build safe apps, while also continuing to strengthen our ecosystem's protection in 2025 and beyond.

Making it easier for you to build safer apps from the start

Google Play’s policies are a critical component of ensuring a safe experience for our shared users. Play Console pre-review checks are a great way to resolve certain policy and compatibility issues before you submit your app for review. We recently added the ability to check privacy policy links and login credential requirements, and we’re launching even more pre-review checks this year to help you avoid common policy pitfalls.

To help you avoid policy complications before you submit apps for review, we’ve been notifying you earlier about certain policies relevant to your apps – starting right as you code in Android Studio. We currently notify developers through Android Studio about a few key policy areas, but this year we’ll expand to a much wider range of policies.

Providing more policy support

Acting on your feedback, we’ve improved our policy experience to give you clearer updates, more time for substantial changes, more flexible requirements while still maintaining safety standards, and more helpful information with live Q&A's. Soon, we’ll be trying a new way of communicating with you in Play Console so you get information when you need it most. This year, we’re investing in even more ways to get your feedback, help you understand our policies, navigate our Policy Center, and help to fix issues before app submission through new features in Console and Android Studio.

We’re also expanding our popular Google Play Developer Help Community, which saw 2.7 million visits last year from developers looking to find answers to policy questions, share knowledge, and connect with fellow developers. This year, we’re planning to expand the community to include more languages, such as Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

Protecting your business and users from scams and attacks

The Play Integrity API is an essential tool to help protect your business from abuse such as fraud, bots, cheating, and data theft. Developers are already using the APIs to make over 500M daily checks for potentially fraudulent or risky behavior. In fact, apps that use Play Integrity features to detect suspicious activity are seeing an 80% drop in unauthorized usage on average compared to other apps.

Developers are using Play Integrity API's new app access risk detection to make over 500M daily checks for potentially fraudulent or risky behavior, and apps that use the Play Integrity API are seeing 80% lower usage from unverified, untrusted sources on average.

This year, we’ll continue to enhance the Play Integrity API with stronger protection for even more users. We recently improved the technology that powers the API on all devices running Android 13 (API level 33) and above, making it faster, more reliable, and more private for users. We also launched enhanced security signals to help you decide how much you trust the environment your app is running in, which we’ll automatically roll out to all developers who use the API in May. You can opt in now to start using the improved verdicts today.

We’ll be adding new features later this year to help you deal with emerging threats, such as the ability to re-identify abusive and risky devices in a way that also preserves user privacy. We’re also building more tools to help you guide users to fix issues, like if they need a security update or they’re using a tampered version of your app.

Providing additional validation for your app

For apps in select categories, we offer badges that provide an extra layer of validation and connect users with safe, high-quality, and useful experiences. Building on the work of last year’s “Government” badge, which helps users identify official government apps, this year we introduced a “Verified” badge to help users discover VPN apps that take extra steps to demonstrate their commitment to security. We’ll continue to expand on this and add badges to more app categories in the future.

Partnering to keep kids safe

Whether your app is specifically designed for kids or simply attracts their attention, there is an added responsibility to ensure a safe and trusted experience. We want to partner with you to keep kids and teens safe online, and protect their privacy, and empower families. In addition to Google Play’s Teacher Approved program, Families policies, and tools like Restrict Declared Minors setting within the Google Play Console, we’re building tools like Credential Manager API, now in Beta for Digital IDs.

Strengthening the Android ecosystem

In addition to helping developers build stronger, safer apps on Google Play, we remain committed to protecting the broader Android ecosystem. Last year, our investments in stronger privacy policies, AI-powered threat detection and other security measures prevented 2.36 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play. By contrast, our most recent analysis found over 50 times more Android malware from Internet-sideloaded sources (like browsers and messaging apps) than on Google Play. This year we’re working on ways to make it even harder for malicious actors to hide or trick users into harmful installs, which will not only protect your business from fraud but also help users download your apps with confidence.

Our most recent analysis found over 50 times more Android malware from Internet-sideloaded sources than on Google Play

Meanwhile, Google Play Protect is always evolving to combat new threats and protect users from harmful apps that can lead to scams and fraud. As this is a core part of user safety, we’re doing more to keep users from being socially-engineered by scammers to turn this off. First, Google Play Protect live threat detection is expanding its protection to target malicious applications that try to impersonate financial apps. And our enhanced financial fraud protection pilot has continued to expand after a successful launch in select countries where we saw malware based financial fraud coming from Internet-sideloaded sources. We are planning to expand the pilot throughout this year to additional countries where we have seen higher levels of malware-based financial fraud.

We’re even working with other leaders across the industry to protect all users, no matter what device they use or where they download their apps. As a founding member of the App Defense Alliance, we’re working to establish and promote industry-wide security standards for mobile and web applications, as well as cloud configurations. Recently, the ADA launched Application Security Assessments (ASA) v1.0, which provides clear guidance to developers on protecting sensitive data and defending against cyber attacks to strengthen user trust.

What's next

Please keep the feedback coming! We appreciate knowing what can make our developers’ experiences more efficient while ensuring we maintain the highest standards in app safety. Thank you for your continued partnership in making Android and Google Play a safe, thriving platform for everyone.

#WeArePlay | How Memory Lane Games helps people with dementia

Posted by Robbie McLachlan – Developer Marketing

In our latest #WeArePlay film, which celebrates the people behind apps and games, we meet Bruce - a co-founder of Memory Lane Games. His company turns cherished memories into simple, engaging quizzes for people with different types of dementia. Discover how Memory Lane Games blends nostalgia and technology to spark conversations and emotional connections.


What inspired the idea behind Memory Lane Games?

The idea for Memory Lane Games came about one day at the pub when Peter was telling me how his mum, even with vascular dementia, lights up when she looks at old family photos. It got me thinking about my own mum, who treasures old photos just as much. The idea hit us – why not turn those memories into games? We wanted to help people reconnect with their past and create moments where conversations could flow naturally.

Memory Lane Games co-founders, Peter and Bruce from Isle of Man

Can you tell us of a memorable moment in the journey when you realized how powerful the game was?

We knew we were onto something meaningful when a caregiver in a memory cafe told us about a man who was pretty much non-verbal but would enjoy playing. He started humming along to one of our music trivia games, then suddenly said, "Roy Orbison is a way better singer than Elvis, but Elvis had a better manager." The caregiver was in tears—it was the first complete sentence he’d spoken in months. Moments like these remind us why we’re doing this—it’s not just about games; it’s about unlocking moments of connection and joy that dementia often takes away.

A user plays Memory Lane Games from their phone

One of the key features is having errorless fun with the games, why was that so important?

We strive for frustration-free design. With our games, there are no wrong answers—just gentle prompts to trigger memories and spark conversations about topics they are interested in. It’s not about winning or losing; it’s about rekindling connections and creating moments of happiness without any pressure or frustration. Dementia can make day-to-day tasks challenging, and the last thing anyone needs is a game that highlights what they might not remember or get right. Caregivers also like being able to redirect attention back to something familiar and fun when behaviour gets more challenging.

How has Google Play helped your journey?

What’s been amazing is how Google Play has connected us with an incredibly active and engaged global community without any major marketing efforts on our part.

For instance, we got our first big traction in places like the Philippines and India—places we hadn’t specifically targeted. Yet here we are, with thousands of downloads in more than 100 countries. That reach wouldn’t have been possible without Google Play.

A group of senior citizen gather around a table to play a round of Memory Lane Games from a shared mobile device

What is next for Memory Lane Game?

We’re really excited about how we can use AI to take Memory Lane Games to the next level. Our goal is to use generative AI, like Google’s Gemini, to create more personalized and localized game content. For example, instead of just focusing on general memories, we want to tailor the game to a specific village the player came from, or a TV show they used to watch, or even local landmarks from their family’s hometown. AI will help us offer games that are deeply personal. Plus, with the power of AI, we can create games in multiple languages, tapping into new regions like Japan, Nigeria or Mexico.

Discover other inspiring app and game founders featured in #WeArePlay.



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The Third Beta of Android 16

Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Management, Android Developer

Android 16 has officially reached Platform Stability today with Beta 3! That means the API surface is locked, the app-facing behaviors are final, and you can push your Android 16-targeted apps to the Play store right now. Read on for coverage of new security and accessibility features in Beta 3.

Android delivers enhancements and new features year-round, and your feedback on the Android beta program plays a key role in helping Android continuously improve. The Android 16 developer site has more information about the beta, including how to get it onto devices and the release timeline. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think, and thank you in advance for your continued help in making Android a platform that benefits everyone.

New in Android 16 Beta 3

At this late stage in the development cycle, there are only a few new things in the Android 16 Beta 3 release for you to consider when developing your apps.

Android 16 timeline showing we are on time with Beta releases ending in March

Broadcast audio support

Pixel 9 devices on Android 16 Beta now support Auracast broadcast audio with compatible LE Audio hearing aids, part of Android's work to enhance audio accessibility. Built on the LE Audio standard, Auracast enables compatible hearing aids and earbuds to receive direct audio streams from public venues like airports, concerts, and classrooms. Our Keyword post has more on this technology.

Outline text for maximum text contrast

Users with low vision often have reduced contrast sensitivity, making it challenging to distinguish objects from their backgrounds. To help these users, Android 16 Beta 3 introduces outline text, replacing high contrast text, which draws a larger contrasting area around text to greatly improve legibility.

Android 16 also contains new AccessibilityManager APIs to allow your apps to check or register a listener to see if this mode is enabled. This is primarily for UI Toolkits like Compose to offer a similar visual experience. If you maintain a UI Toolkit library or your app performs custom text rendering that bypasses the android.text.Layout class then you can use this to know when outline text is enabled.

Text with enhanced contrast before and after Android 16's new outline text accessibility feature
Text with enhanced contrast before and after Android 16's new outline text accessibility feature

Test your app with Local Network Protection

Android 16 Beta 3 adds the ability to test the Local Network Protection (LNP) feature which is planned for a future Android major release. It gives users more control over which apps can access devices on their local network.

What's Changing?

Currently, any app with the INTERNET permission can communicate with devices on the user's local network. LNP will eventually require apps to request a specific permission to access the local network.

Beta 3: Opt-In and Test

In Beta 3, LNP is an opt-in feature. This is your chance to test your app and identify any parts that rely on local network access. Use this adb command to enable LNP restrictions for your app:

adb shell am compat enable RESTRICT_LOCAL_NETWORK <your_package_name>

After rebooting your device, your app's local network access is restricted. Test features that might interact with local devices (e.g., device discovery, media casting, connecting to IoT devices). Expect to see socket errors like EPERM or ECONNABORTED if your app tries to access the local network without the necessary permission. See the developer guide for more information, including how to re-enable local network access.

This is a significant change, and we're committed to working with you to ensure a smooth transition. By testing and providing feedback now, you can help us build a more private and secure Android ecosystem.

Get your apps, libraries, tools, and game engines ready!

If you develop an SDK, library, tool, or game engine, it's even more important to prepare any necessary updates now to prevent your downstream app and game developers from being blocked by compatibility issues and allow them to target the latest SDK features. Please let your developers know if updates are needed to fully support Android 16.

Testing involves installing your production app or a test app making use of your library or engine using Google Play or other means onto a device or emulator running Android 16 Beta 3. Work through all your app's flows and look for functional or UI issues. Review the behavior changes to focus your testing. Each release of Android contains platform changes that improve privacy, security, and overall user experience, and these changes can affect your apps. Here are several changes to focus on that apply, even if you don't yet target Android 16:

    • JobScheduler: JobScheduler quotas are enforced more strictly in Android 16; enforcement will occur if a job executes while the app is on top, when a foreground service is running, or in the active standby bucket. setImportantWhileForeground is now a no-op. The new stop reason STOP_REASON_TIMEOUT_ABANDONED occurs when we detect that the app can no longer stop the job.
    • Broadcasts: Ordered broadcasts using priorities only work within the same process. Use other IPC if you need cross-process ordering.
    • ART: If you use reflection, JNI, or any other means to access Android internals, your app might break. This is never a best practice. Test thoroughly.
    • 16KB Page Size: If your app isn't 16KB-page-size ready, you can use the new compatibility mode flag, but we recommend migrating to 16KB for best performance.

Other changes that will be impactful once your app targets Android 16:

Remember to thoroughly exercise libraries and SDKs that your app is using during your compatibility testing. You may need to update to current SDK versions or reach out to the developer for help if you encounter any issues.

Once you’ve published the Android 16-compatible version of your app, you can start the process to update your app's targetSdkVersion. Review the behavior changes that apply when your app targets Android 16 and use the compatibility framework to help quickly detect issues.

Two Android API releases in 2025

This preview is for the next major release of Android with a planned launch in Q2 of 2025 and we plan to have another release with new developer APIs in Q4. This Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 that includes behavior changes that could affect apps. The Q4 minor release will pick up feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes; like our non-SDK quarterly releases, it will not include any intentional app-breaking behavior changes.

Android API release timeline 2025

We'll continue to have quarterly Android releases. The Q1 and Q3 updates provide incremental updates to ensure continuous quality. We’re putting additional energy into working with our device partners to bring the Q2 release to as many devices as possible.

There’s no change to the target API level requirements and the associated dates for apps in Google Play; our plans are for one annual requirement each year, tied to the major API level.

Get started with Android 16

You can enroll any supported Pixel device to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air. If you don’t have a Pixel device, you can use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio. If you are currently on Android 16 Beta 2 or are already in the Android Beta program, you will be offered an over-the-air update to Beta 3.

While the API and behaviors are final, we're still looking for your feedback so please report issues on the feedback page. The earlier we get your feedback, the better chance we'll be able to address it in this or a future release.

For the best development experience with Android 16, we recommend that you use the latest feature drop of Android Studio (Meerkat). Once you’re set up, here are some of the things you should do:

    • Compile against the new SDK, test in CI environments, and report any issues in our tracker on the feedback page.

We’ll update the beta system images and SDK regularly throughout the Android 16 release cycle. Once you’ve installed a beta build, you’ll automatically get future updates over-the-air for all later previews and Betas.

For complete information on Android 16 please visit the Android 16 developer site.

The Second Beta of Android 16

Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Management, Android Developer

Today we're releasing the second beta of Android 16, continuing our work to build a platform that enables creative expression. You can enroll any supported Pixel device to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air.

This build adds new support for professional camera experiences, graphical effects, extends our performance framework, and continues the evolution of features related to privacy, security, and background tasks. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think, and thank you in advance for your continued help in making Android a platform that works for everyone.

Media and camera updates

Android 16 enhances support for professional camera users, allowing for hybrid auto exposure along with precise color temperature and tint adjustments. It's easier than ever to capture motion photos with new Intent actions, and we're continuing to improve UltraHDR images, with support for HEIC encoding and new parameters from the ISO 21496-1 draft standard.

Hybrid auto-exposure

Android 16 adds new hybrid auto-exposure modes to Camera2, allowing you to manually control specific aspects of exposure while letting the auto-exposure (AE) algorithm handle the rest. You can control ISO + AE, and exposure time + AE, providing greater flexibility compared to the current approach where you either have full manual control or rely entirely on auto-exposure.

fun setISOPriority() {
   // ...

    val availablePriorityModes = mStaticInfo.characteristics.get(
        CameraCharacteristics.CONTROL_AE_AVAILABLE_PRIORITY_MODES
    )
    // ...
    
    // Turn on AE mode to set priority mode
    reqBuilder[CaptureRequest.CONTROL_AE_MODE] = CameraMetadata.CONTROL_AE_MODE_ON
    reqBuilder[CaptureRequest.CONTROL_AE_PRIORITY_MODE] = CameraMetadata.CONTROL_AE_PRIORITY_MODE_SENSOR_SENSITIVITY_PRIORITY
    reqBuilder[CaptureRequest.SENSOR_SENSITIVITY] = TEST_SENSITIVITY_VALUE
    val request: CaptureRequest = reqBuilder.build()

    // ...

}

Precise color temperature and tint adjustments

Android 16 adds camera support for fine color temperature and tint adjustments to better support professional video recording applications. White balance settings are currently controlled through CONTROL_AWB_MODE, which contains options limited to a preset list, such as Incandescent, Cloudy, and Twilight. The COLOR_CORRECTION_MODE_CCT enables the use of COLOR_CORRECTION_COLOR_TEMPERATURE and COLOR_CORRECTION_COLOR_TINT for precise adjustments of white balance based on the correlated color temperature.

fun setCCT() {
    // ... (Your existing code before this point) ...

    val colorTemperatureRange: Range<Int> =
        mStaticInfo.characteristics[CameraCharacteristics.COLOR_CORRECTION_COLOR_TEMPERATURE_RANGE]

    // Set to manual mode to enable CCT mode
    reqBuilder[CaptureRequest.CONTROL_AWB_MODE] = CameraMetadata.CONTROL_AWB_MODE_OFF
    reqBuilder[CaptureRequest.COLOR_CORRECTION_MODE] = CameraMetadata.COLOR_CORRECTION_MODE_CCT
    reqBuilder[CaptureRequest.COLOR_CORRECTION_COLOR_TEMPERATURE] = 5000
    reqBuilder[CaptureRequest.COLOR_CORRECTION_COLOR_TINT] = 30

    val request: CaptureRequest = reqBuilder.build()

    // ... (Your existing code after this point) ...
}
Five photos of the back of a Google Pixel phone demonstrate different color temperatures and tints. The original photo is in the top left, followed by Tint -50, Tint +50, Temp 3000, and Temp 7000.

Motion photo capture intent actions

Android 16 adds standard Intent actions — ACTION_MOTION_PHOTO_CAPTURE, and ACTION_MOTION_PHOTO_CAPTURE_SECURE — which request that the camera application capture a motion photo and return it.

Moving image of a diverse group of friends playing a game of horseshoe

You must either pass an extra EXTRA_OUTPUT to control where the image will be written, or a Uri through Intent setClipData. If you don't set a ClipData, it will be copied there for you when calling Context.startActivity.

UltraHDR image enhancements

A split-screen image compares Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) image quality side-by-side using a singular image of a detailed landscape. The HDR side is more vivid and vibrant.

Android 16 continues our work to deliver dazzling image quality with UltraHDR images. It adds support for UltraHDR images in the HEIC file format. These images will get ImageFormat type HEIC_ULTRAHDR and will contain an embedded gainmap similar to the existing UltraHDR JPEG format. We're working on AVIF support for UltraHDR as well, so stay tuned.

In addition, Android 16 implements additional parameters in UltraHDR from the ISO 21496-1 draft standard, including the ability to get and set the colorspace that gainmap math should be applied in, as well as support for HDR encoded base images with SDR gainmaps.

Custom graphical effects with AGSL

Android 16 adds RuntimeColorFilter and RuntimeXfermode, allowing you to author complex effects like Threshold, Sepia, and Hue Saturation and apply them to draw calls. Since Android 13, you've been able to use AGSL to create custom RuntimeShaders that extend Shaders. The new API mirrors this, adding an AGSL-powered RuntimeColorFilter that extends ColorFilters, and a Xfermode effect that allows you to implement AGSL-based custom compositing and blending between source and destination pixels.

private val thresholdEffectString = """
    uniform half threshold;
    half4 main(half4 c) {
        half luminosity = dot(c.rgb, half3(0.2126, 0.7152, 0.0722));
        half bw = step(threshold, luminosity);
        return bw.xxx1 * c.a;
    }"""

fun setCustomColorFilter(paint: Paint) {
   val filter = RuntimeColorFilter(thresholdEffectString)
   filter.setFloatUniform(0.5)
   paint.colorFilter = filter
}

Behavior changes

With every Android release, we seek to make the platform more efficient, privacy conscious, internationalization friendly, and robust, balancing the needs of apps against hardware support, system performance, user privacy, and battery life. This can result in behavior changes that impact compatibility.

Edge to edge opt-out going away

Android 15 enforced edge-to-edge for apps targeting Android 15 (SDK 35), but your app could opt-out by setting R.attr#windowOptOutEdgeToEdgeEnforcement to true. Once your app targets Android 16 (Baklava), R.attr#windowOptOutEdgeToEdgeEnforcement is deprecated and disabled and your app cannot opt-out of going edge-to-edge. To be compatible with Android 16 Beta 2, ensure your app supports edge-to-edge and remove any use of R.attr#windowOptOutEdgeToEdgeEnforcement. To support edge-to-edge, see the Compose and Views guidance. Please let us know about concerns in our tracker on the feedback page.

Health and fitness permissions

For apps targeting Android 16 or higher, BODY_SENSORS permissions are transitioning to the granular permissions under android.permissions.health also used by Health Connect. Any API previously requiring BODY_SENSORS or BODY_SENSORS_BACKGROUND will now require the corresponding android.permissions.health permission. This affects the following data types, APIs, and foreground service types:

If your app uses these APIs, it should now request the respective granular permissions:

These permissions are the same as those that guard access to reading data from Health Connect, the Android datastore for health, fitness, and wellness data.

Abandoned empty jobs stop reason

An abandoned job occurs when the JobParameters object associated with the job has been garbage collected, but jobFinished has not been called to signal job completion. This indicates that the job may be running and being rescheduled without the application's awareness.

Applications in Android 16 that rely on JobScheduler without maintaining a strong reference to the JobParameters object will now be granted the new job stop reason STOP_REASON_TIMEOUT_ABANDONED on timeout, instead of STOP_REASON_TIMEOUT.

If there are frequent occurrences of the new abandoned stop reason, the system will take mitigation steps to reduce job frequency. Please use the new stop reason to detect and reduce abandoned jobs.

Note: If you're using WorkManager, you're not expected to be impacted by this change — one nice side effect of using Android Jetpack to schedule your work.

Intent redirect changes

Android 16 introduces default security hardening against Intent redirection attacks regardless of your app's targetSDK version. The removeLaunchSecurityProtection API allows you to opt-out of this protection if your testing reveals issues.

Note: Opting out of security protections should be done with caution and only when absolutely necessary, as it can increase the risk of security vulnerabilities.
val iSublevel = intent.getParcelableExtra("sub_intent", Intent::class.java)
iSublevel?.let {
    it.removeLaunchSecurityProtection()
    startActivity(it)
}

Elegant font APIs deprecated and disabled

Apps targeting Android 15 (API level 35) have the elegantTextHeight TextView attribute set to true by default, replacing the compact font with one that is much more readable. You could override this by setting the elegantTextHeight attribute to false.

Android 16 deprecates the elegantTextHeight attribute, and the attribute will be ignored once your app targets Android 16. The “UI fonts” controlled by these APIs are being discontinued, so you should adapt any layouts to ensure consistent and future proof text rendering in Arabic, Lao, Myanmar, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Telugu or Thai.

Example of default eleganttextHeight behavior for apps targeting Android 14 (API level 34) and lower
default elegantTextHeight behavior for apps targeting Android 14 (API level 34) and lower

Example of default elegantTextHeight behavior for apps targeting Android 15 (API level 35) and higher
default elegantTextHeight behavior for apps targeting Android 15 (API level 35) and higher

16 KB page size compatibility mode

Android 15 introduced support for 16KB memory pages to optimize performance of the platform. Android 16 adds a compatibility mode, allowing some apps built for 4K memory pages to run on a device configured for 16KB memory pages.

If Android detects that your app has 4KB aligned memory pages, it will automatically use compatibility mode and display a notification dialog to the user. Setting the android:pageSizeCompat property in the AndroidManifest.xml to enable the backwards compatibility mode will prevent the display of the dialog when your app launches. For best performance, reliability, and stability, your app should still be 16KB aligned. Read our recent blog post about updating your apps to support 16KB memory pages for more details.

Screenshot of PageSizeCompatTestApp in Android 16

Measurement system customization

Users can now customize their measurement system in regional preferences within Settings. The user preference is included as part of the locale code, so you can register a BroadcastReceiver on ACTION_LOCALE_CHANGED to handle locale configuration changes when regional preferences change.

Using formatters can help match the local experience. For example, "0.5 in" in English (United States), is "12,7 mm" for a user who has set their phone to English (Denmark) or who uses their phone in English (United States) with the metric system as the measurement system preference.

To find these settings in Android 16 Beta 2, open the Settings app and navigate to System > Languages & region.

Content handling for live wallpapers

In Android 16, the live wallpaper framework is gaining a new content API to address the challenges of dynamic, user-driven wallpapers. Currently, live wallpapers incorporating user-provided content require complex, service-specific implementations. Android 16 introduces WallpaperDescription and WallpaperInstance. WallpaperDescription allows you to identify distinct instances of a live wallpaper from the same service. For example, a wallpaper that has instances on both the home screen and on the lock screen may have unique content in both places. The wallpaper picker and WallpaperManager use this metadata to better present wallpapers to users, streamlining the process for you to create diverse and personalized live wallpaper experiences.

Headroom APIs in ADPF

The SystemHealthManager introduces the getCpuHeadroom and getGpuHeadroom APIs, designed to provide games and resource-intensive apps with estimates of available CPU and GPU resources. These methods offer a way for you to gauge how your app or game can best improve system health, particularly when used in conjunction with other Android Dynamic Performance Framework (ADPF) APIs that detect thermal throttling. By using CpuHeadroomParams and GpuHeadroomParams on supported devices, you will be able to customize the time window used to compute the headroom and select between average or minimum resource availability. This can help you reduce your CPU or GPU resource usage accordingly, leading to better user experiences and improved battery life.

Key sharing API

Android 16 adds APIs that support sharing access to Android Keystore keys with other apps. The new KeyStoreManager class supports granting and revoking access to keys by app uid, and includes an API for apps to access shared keys.

Standardized picture and audio quality framework for TVs

The new MediaQuality package in Android 16 exposes a set of standardized APIs for access to audio and picture profiles and hardware-related settings. This allows streaming apps to query profiles and apply them to media dynamically:

    • Movies mastered with a wider dynamic range require greater color accuracy to see subtle details in shadows and adjust to ambient light, so a profile that prefers color accuracy over brightness may be appropriate.
    • Live sporting events are often mastered with a narrow dynamic range, but are often watched in daylight, so a profile that gives preference to brightness over color accuracy can give better results.
    • Fully interactive content wants minimal processing to reduce latency, and wants higher frame rates, which is why many TV's ship with a game profile.

The API allows apps to switch between profiles and users to enjoy the benefits of tuning supported TVs to best suit their content.

Accessibility

Android 16 adds additional APIs to enhance UI semantics that help improve consistency for users that rely on accessibility services, such as TalkBack.

Duration added to TtsSpan

Android 16 extends TtsSpan with a TYPE_DURATION, consisting of ARG_HOURS, ARG_MINUTES, and ARG_SECONDS. This allows you to directly annotate time duration, ensuring accurate and consistent text-to-speech output with services like TalkBack.

Support elements with multiple labels

Android currently allows UI elements to derive their accessibility label from another, and now offers the ability for multiple labels to be associated, a common scenario in web content. By introducing a list-based API within AccessibilityNodeInfo, Android can directly support these multi-label relationships. As part of this change, we've deprecated AccessibilityNodeInfo setLabeledBy and getLabeledBy in favor of addLabeledBy, removeLabeledBy, and getLabeledByList.

Improved support for expandable elements

Android 16 adds accessibility APIs that allow you to convey the expanded or collapsed state of interactive elements, such as menus and expandable lists. By setting the expanded state using setExpandedState and dispatching TYPE_WINDOW_CONTENT_CHANGED AccessibilityEvents with a CONTENT_CHANGE_TYPE_EXPANDED content change type, you can ensure that screen readers like TalkBack announce state changes, providing a more intuitive and inclusive user experience.

Indeterminate ProgressBars

Android 16 adds RANGE_TYPE_INDETERMINATE, giving a way for you to expose RangeInfo for both determinate and indeterminate ProgressBar widgets, allowing services like TalkBack to more consistently provide feedback for progress indicators.

Tri-state CheckBox

The new AccessibilityNodeInfo getChecked and setChecked(int) methods in Android 16 now support a "partially checked" state in addition to "checked" and "unchecked." This replaces the deprecated boolean isChecked and setChecked(boolean).

Two Android API releases in 2025

This preview is for the next major release of Android with a planned launch in Q2 of 2025 and we plan to have another release with new developer APIs in Q4. The Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 to include behavior changes that could affect apps. The Q4 minor release will pick up feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes; like our non-SDK quarterly releases, it will not include any intentional app-impacting behavior changes.

2025 SDK release timeline showing a features only update in Q1 and Q3, a major SDK release with behavior changes, APIs, and features in Q2, and a minor SDK release with APIs and features in Q4

We'll continue to have quarterly Android releases. The Q1 and Q3 updates provide incremental updates to ensure continuous quality. We’re putting additional energy into working with our device partners to bring the Q2 release to as many devices as possible.

There’s no change to the target API level requirements and the associated dates for apps in Google Play; our plans are for one annual requirement each year, tied to the major API level.

How to get ready

In addition to performing compatibility testing on this next major release, make sure that you're compiling your apps against the new SDK, and use the compatibility framework to enable targetSdkVersion-gated behavior changes as they become available for early testing.

App compatibility

The Android 16 production timeline shows the release stages, highlighting 'Beta Releases' and 'Platform Stability' in blue and green, respectively, from December to the final release.

The Android 16 Preview program runs from November 2024 until the final public release in Q2 of 2025. At key development milestones, we'll deliver updates for your development and testing environments. Each update includes SDK tools, system images, emulators, API reference, and API diffs. We'll highlight critical APIs as they are ready to test in the preview program in blogs and on the Android 16 developer website.

We’re targeting March of 2025 for our Platform Stability milestone. At this milestone, we’ll deliver final SDK/NDK APIs and also final internal APIs and app-facing system behaviors. From that time you’ll have several months before the final release to complete your testing. Learn more by checking the release timeline details.

Get started with Android 16

You can enroll any supported Pixel device to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air. If you don’t have a Pixel device, you can use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio. If you are currently on Android 16 Beta 1 or are already in the Android Beta program, you will be offered an over-the-air update to Beta 2.

We're looking for your feedback so please report issues and submit feature requests on the feedback page. The earlier we get your feedback, the more we can include in our work on the final release.

For the best development experience with Android 16, we recommend that you use the latest preview of Android Studio (Meerkat). Once you’re set up, here are some of the things you should do:

    • Compile against the new SDK, test in CI environments, and report any issues in our tracker on the feedback page.
    • Test your current app for compatibility, learn whether your app is affected by changes in Android 16, and install your app onto a device or emulator running Android 16 and extensively test it.

We’ll update the beta system images and SDK regularly throughout the Android 16 release cycle. Once you’ve installed a beta build, you’ll automatically get future updates over-the-air for all later previews and Betas.

For complete information, visit the Android 16 developer site.

TrustedTime API: Introducing a reliable approach to time keeping for your apps

Posted by Kanyinsola Fapohunda – Software Engineer, and Geoffrey Boullanger – Technical Lead

Accurate time is crucial for a wide variety of app functionalities, from scheduling and event management to transaction logging and security protocols. However, a user can change the device’s time, so a more accurate source of time than the device’s local system time may be required. That's why we're introducing the TrustedTime API that leverages Google's infrastructure to deliver a trustworthy timestamp, independent of the device's potentially manipulated local time settings.

How does TrustedTime work?

The new API leverages Google's secure infrastructure to provide a trusted time source to your app. TrustedTime periodically syncs its clock to Google's servers, which have access to a highly accurate time source, so that you do not need to make a server request every time you want to know the current network time. Additionally, we've integrated a unique model that calculates the device's clock drift. This will inform you when the time may be inaccurate between network synchronizations.

Why is an accurate source of time important?

Many apps rely on the device's clock for various features. However, users can change their device's time settings, either intentionally or unintentionally, therefore changing the time that your app gets. This can lead to problems such as:

    • Data Inconsistency: Apps relying on chronological event ordering are vulnerable to data corruption if users manipulate device time. TrustedTime mitigates this risk by providing a trustworthy time source.
    • Security Gaps: Time-based security measures, like one-time passwords or timed access controls require an unaltered time source to be effective.
    • Unreliable Scheduling: Apps that depend on accurate scheduling, like calendar or reminder apps, can malfunction if the device clock (i.e. Unix timestamp) is incorrect.
    • Inaccurate Time: The device's internal clock can drift due to various factors, such as temperature, doze mode, battery level, etc. This can lead to problems in applications that require more precision. The TrustedTime API also provides the estimated error with the timestamps, so that you can ensure your app's time-sensitive operations are performed correctly.
    • Lack of Consistency Between Devices: Inconsistent time across devices can cause problems in multi-device scenarios, such as gaming or collaborative applications. The TrustedTime API helps ensure that all devices have a consistent view of time, improving the user experience.
    • Unnecessary Power and Data Consumption: TrustedTime is designed to be more efficient than calling an NTP server every time an app needs the current time. It avoids the overhead of repeated network requests by periodically syncing its clock with time servers. This synced time is then used as a reference point, and the TrustedTime API calculates the current time based on the device's internal clock. This approach reduces network usage and improves performance for apps that need frequent time checks.

TrustedTime Use Cases

The TrustedTime API opens up a range of possibilities for enhancing the reliability and security of your apps, with use cases in areas such as:

    • Financial Applications: Ensure the accuracy of transaction timestamps even when the device is offline, preventing fraud and disputes.
    • Gaming: Implement fair play by preventing users from manipulating the game clock to gain an unfair advantage.
    • Limited-Time Offers: Guarantee that promotions and offers expire at the correct time, regardless of the user's device settings.
    • E-commerce: Accurately track order processing and delivery times.
    • Content Licensing: Enforce time-based restrictions on digital content, like rentals or subscriptions.
    • IoT Devices: Synchronize clocks across multiple devices for consistent data logging and control.
    • Productivity apps: Accurately record the time of any changes made to cloud documents while offline.

Getting started with the TrustedTime API

The TrustedTime API is built on top of Google Play services, making integration seamless for most Android developers.

The simplest way to integrate is to initialize the TrustedTimeClient early in your app lifecycle, such as in the onCreate() method of your Application class. The following example uses dependency injection with Hilt to make the time client available to components throughout the app.

[Optional] Setup dependency injection

// TrustedTimeClientAccessor.kt
import com.google.android.gms.tasks.Task
import com.google.android.gms.time.TrustedTimeClient

interface TrustedTimeClientAccessor {
  fun createClient(): Task<TrustedTimeClient>
}

// TrustedTimeModule.kt
@Module
@InstallIn(SingletonComponent::class)
class TrustedTimeModule {
  @Provides
  fun provideTrustedTimeClientAccessor(
    @ApplicationContext context: Context
  ): TrustedTimeClientAccessor {
    return object : TrustedTimeClientAccessor {
      override fun createClient(): Task<TrustedTimeClient> {
        return TrustedTime.createClient(context)
      }
    }
  }
}

Initialize early in your app's lifecycle

// TrustedTimeDemoApplication.kt
@HiltAndroidApp
class TrustedTimeDemoApplication : Application() {

  @Inject
  lateinit var trustedTimeClientAccessor: TrustedTimeClientAccessor

  var trustedTimeClient: TrustedTimeClient? = null
    private set

  override fun onCreate() {
    super.onCreate()
    trustedTimeClientAccessor.createClient().addOnCompleteListener { task ->
      if (task.isSuccessful) {
        // Stash the client
        trustedTimeClient = task.result
      } else {
        // Handle error, maybe retry later
        val exception = task.exception
      }
    }
    // To use Kotlin Coroutine, you can use the await() method, 
    // see https://developers.google.com/android/guides/tasks#kotlin_coroutine for more info.
  }
}

NOTE: If you don't use dependency injection in your app. You can simply call
`TrustedTime.createClient(context)` instead of using a TrustedTimeClientAccessor.

Use TrustedTimeClient anywhere in your app

// Retrieve the TrustedTimeClient from your application class
  val myApp = applicationContext as TrustedTimeDemoApplication

  // In this example, System.currentTimeMillis() is used as a fallback if the
  // client is null (i.e. client creation task failed) or when there is no time
  // signal available. You may not want to do this if using the system clock is
  // not suitable for your use case.
  val currentTimeMillis =
    myApp.trustedTimeClient?.computeCurrentUnixEpochMillis()
        ?: System.currentTimeMillis()
  // trustedTimeClient.computeCurrentInstant() can be used if Instant is
  // preferred to long for Unix epoch times and you are able to use the APIs.

Use in short-lived components like Activity

@AndroidEntryPoint
class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
  @Inject
  lateinit var trustedTimeAccessor: TrustedTimeAccessor

   private var trustedTimeClient: TrustedTimeClient? = null

  override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    ...
    trustedTimeAccessor.createClient().addOnCompleteListener { task ->
      if (task.isSuccessful) {
          // Stash the client
          trustedTimeClient = task.result
        } else {
         // Handle error, maybe retry later or use another time source.
          val exception = task.exception
        }
    }
  }

  private fun getCurrentTimeInMillis() : Long? {
    return trustedTimeClient?.computeCurrentUnixEpochMillis()
  }
}

TrustedTime API availability and limitations

The TrustedTime API is available on all devices running Google Play services on Android 5 (Lollipop) and above. You need to add the dependency com.google.android.gms:play-services-time:16.0.1 (or above) to access the new API. No additional permission is required to use this API. However, TrustedTime needs an internet connection after the device starts up to provide timestamps. If the device hasn't connected to the internet since booting, the TrustedTime APIs won't return timestamps.

It’s important to note that the device's internal clock can drift due to factors like temperature, doze mode, and battery level. TrustedTime doesn't prevent this drift, but its APIs provide an error estimate for each timestamp. Use this estimate to determine if the timestamp's accuracy meets your application's requirements. While TrustedTime makes it more difficult for users to manipulate the time accessed by your app, it does not guarantee complete safety. Advanced techniques can still be used to tamper with the device’s time.

Next steps

To learn more about the TrustedTime API, check out the following resources:

Get ready for Google I/O May 20–21

Posted by the Google I/O team

Google I/O is back

Google I/O returns May 20 – 21! Join us online as we share our vision for the future of technology, along with updates across Android, AI, web, cloud, and more.

Tune in to learn how the latest AI models can help you build innovative apps and transform development workflows. We'll also share how we're making Android development even easier, and empowering you to build richer, more engaging web experiences.

Register now and tune in live

Head to the Google I/O website and register to receive updates. The livestreamed keynotes kick off on May 20th at 10 AM PT, and new this year, we’ll be streaming developer product keynotes live from Shoreline across both days!

Stay tuned for details about I/O Connect events this summer, and test your skills at solving the #GoogleIO puzzle to unlock bonus worlds and earn badges.

Helping users find trusted apps on Google Play

Posted by JJ Zou – Product Manager, and Scott Lin – Product Manager

At Google Play, we're committed to empowering you with the tools and resources you need to build successful and secure apps that users can rely on. That's why we're introducing a new way to recognize VPN apps that go above and beyond to protect their users: a "Verified" badge for consumer-facing VPN apps.

This new badge is designed to highlight apps that prioritize user privacy and safety, help users make more informed choices about the VPN apps they use, and build confidence in the apps they ultimately download. This badge complements existing features such as the Google Play Store banner for VPNs and Data Safety section declaration in the Play Store.

A screenshot of the NordVPN app page on the Google Play Store. The app has a 4.6-star rating and is verified by Google Play Protect and description mentions 6,000+ servers in 110+ locations and highlights its data safety features.

Build user trust with more transparency

Earning the VPN badge isn't just about checking a box— it's proof that your VPN app invests in app safety. This badge signifies that your app has gone above and beyond, adhering to the Play safety and security guidelines and successfully completed a Mobile Application Security Assessment (MASA) Level 2 validation.

The VPN badge helps your app stand out in a crowded marketplace. Once awarded, the badge is prominently displayed on your app’s details page and in search results. Additionally, we have built new surfaces to showcase verified VPN applications.

Demonstrating commitment to security and safety

We're excited to share insights from some of our partners who have already earned the VPN badge and are leading the way in building a safe and trusted Google Play ecosystem. Learn how partners like Nord, hide.me, and Aloha are using the badge and implementing best practices for user security:

Nord

Nord VPN Logo

“We’re excited that the new ‘Verified’ badge will help users easily identify VPNs that meet high standards for security and privacy. In a market where trust is key, this badge not only provides reassurance to customers, but also highlights the integrity of developers committed to delivering secure and reliable products.”


hide.me

hide.me Logo

“Privacy and user safety are fundamental to our VPN's architecture. The MASA program has been valuable in validating our security practices and maintaining high standards. This accreditation provides independent verification of our commitment to protecting user privacy.”


Aloha Browser

Aloha Logo

“The certification process is well-organized and accessible to any company. If your product is developed with security as a core focus, passing the required audits should not pose any difficulty. We regularly conduct third-party audits and have been active participants in the MASA program since its inception. Additionally, it fosters discipline in your development practices, knowing that regular re-certification is required. Ultimately, it’s the end user who benefits the most—a secure and satisfied user is the ultimate goal for every app developer.”


Getting your App Badge-Ready

To take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your app's profile and attract more users, learn more about the specific criteria and start the validation process today.

To be considered for the "Verified" badge, your VPN app needs to:

    • Have at least 10,000 installs and 250 reviews
    • Be published on Google Play for at least 90 days
        • Independent security review, under ‘Additional badges’
        • Encryption in transit
    Note: This list is not exhaustive and doesn't fully represent all the criteria used to display the badge. While other factors contribute to the evaluation, fulfilling these requirements significantly increases your chances of seeing your VPN app “Verified.”

    Join us in our mission to create a safer and more transparent Google Play ecosystem. We're here to support you with the tools and resources you need to build trusted apps.

The First Beta of Android 16

Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Management, Android Developer

The first beta of Android 16 is now available, which means it's time to open the experience up to both developers and early adopters. You can now enroll any supported Pixel device here to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air.

This build includes support for the future of app adaptivity, Live Updates, the Advanced Professional Video format, and more. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think, and thank you in advance for your continued help in making Android a platform that works for everyone.

Android adaptive apps

Users expect apps to work seamlessly on all their devices, regardless of display size and form factor. To that end, Android 16 is phasing out the ability for apps to restrict screen orientation and resizability on large screens. This is similar to features OEMs have added over the last several years to large screen devices to allow users to run apps at any window size and aspect ratio.

On screens larger than 600dp wide, apps that target API level 36 will have app windows that resize; you should check your apps to ensure your existing UIs scale seamlessly, working well across portrait and landscape aspect ratios. We're providing frameworks, tooling, and libraries to help.

Two hands hold a folding phone, showing the Developer News feed in both the folded and unfolded states. The unfolded view shows more news items.

Key changes:

Timeline:

Live Updates

Live Updates are a new class of notifications that help users monitor and quickly access important ongoing activities.

The new ProgressStyle notification template provides a consistent user experience for Live Updates, helping you build for these progress-centric user journeys: rideshare, delivery, and navigation. It includes support for custom icons for the start, end, and current progress tracking, segments and points, user journey states, milestones, and more.

ProgressStyle notifications are suggested only for ride sharing, food delivery, and navigation use cases.

@Override
protected Notification getNotification() {
   return new Notification.Builder(mContext, CHANNEL_ID)
      .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_app_icon)
      .setContentTitle("Ride requested")
      .setContentText("Looking for nearby drivers")
      .setStyle(
          new Notification.ProgressStyle()
          .addProgressSegment(
              new Notification.ProgressStyle.Segment(100)
                  .setColor(COLOR_ORANGE)
           ).setProgressIndeterminate(true)
      ).build();
}

Camera and media updates

Android 16 advances support for the playback, creation, and editing of high-quality media, a critical use case for social and productivity apps.

Advanced Professional Video

Android 16 introduces support for the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec which is designed to be used for professional level high quality video recording and post production.

The APV codec standard has the following features:

    • Perceptually lossless video quality (close to raw video quality)
    • Low complexity and high throughput intra-frame-only coding (without pixel domain prediction) to better support editing workflows
    • Support for high bit-rate range up to a few Gbps for 2K, 4K and 8K resolution content, enabled by a lightweight entropy coding scheme
    • Frame tiling for immersive content and for enabling parallel encoding and decoding
    • Support for various chroma sampling formats and bit-depths
    • Support for multiple decoding and re-encoding without severe visual quality degradation
    • Support multi-view video and auxiliary video like depth, alpha, and preview
    • Support for HDR10/10+ and user-defined metadata

A reference implementation of APV is provided through the OpenAPV project. Android 16 will implement support for the APV 422-10 Profile that provides YUV 422 color sampling along with 10-bit encoding and for target bitrates of up to 2Gbps.

Camera night mode scene detection

To help your app know when to switch to and from a night mode camera session, Android 16 adds EXTENSION_NIGHT_MODE_INDICATOR. If supported, it's available in the CaptureResult within Camera2.

This is the API we briefly mentioned as coming soon in the "How Instagram enabled users to take stunning low light photos" blogpost. That post is a practical guide on how to implement night mode together with a case study that links higher-quality, in-app, night mode photos with an increase in the number of photos shared from the in-app camera.

Vertical Text

Android 16 adds low-level support for rendering and measuring text vertically to provide foundational vertical writing support for library developers. This is particularly useful for languages like Japanese that commonly use vertical writing systems. A new flag, VERTICAL_TEXT_FLAG, has been added to the Paint class. When this flag is set using Paint.setFlags, Paint’s text measurement APIs will report vertical advances instead of horizontal advances, and Canvas will draw text vertically.

Note: Current high level text APIs, such as Text in Jetpack Compose, TextView, Layout classes and their subclasses do not support vertical writing systems, and do not support using the VERTICAL_TEXT_FLAG.
val text = "「春は、曙。」"
Box(Modifier
  .padding(innerPadding)
  .background(Color.White)
  .fillMaxSize()
  .drawWithContent {
     drawIntoCanvas { canvas ->
       val paint = Paint().apply {
         textSize = 64.sp.toPx()
       }
       // Draw text vertically
       paint.flags = paint.flags or VERTICAL_TEXT_FLAG
       val height = paint.measureText(text)
       canvas.nativeCanvas.drawText(
         text, 0, text.length, size.width / 2, (size.height - height) / 2, paint
       )
     }
  }) 
{}

Accessibility

Android 16 adds new accessibility APIs to help you bring your app to every user.

Supplemental descriptions

When an accessibility service describes a ViewGroup, it combines content labels from its child views. If you provide a contentDescription for the ViewGroup, accessibility services assume you are also overriding the content of non-focusable child views. This can be problematic if you want to label things like a drop down (e.g. "Font Family") while preserving the current selection for accessibility (e.g. "Roboto"). Android 16 adds setSupplementalDescription so you can provide text that provides information about a ViewGroup without overriding information from its children.

Required form fields

Android 16 adds setFieldRequired to AccessibilityNodeInfo so apps can tell an accessibility service that input to a form field is required. This is an important scenario for users filling out many types of forms, even things as simple as a required terms and conditions checkbox, helping users to consistently identify and quickly navigate between required fields.

Generic ranging APIs

Android 16 includes the new RangingManager, which provides ways to determine the distance and angle on supported hardware between the local device and a remote device. RangingManager supports the usage of a variety of ranging technologies such as BLE channel sounding, BLE RSSI-based ranging, Ultra-Wideband, and WiFi round trip time.

Behavior changes

With every Android release, we seek to make the platform more efficient and robust, balancing the needs of your apps against things like system performance and battery life. This can result in behavior changes that impact compatibility.

ART internal changes

Code that leverages internal structures of the Android Runtime (ART) may not work correctly on devices running Android 16 along with earlier Android versions that update the ART module through Google Play system updates. These structures are changing in ways that help improve the Android Runtime's (ART's) performance.

Impacted apps will need to be updated. Relying on internal structures can always lead to compatibility problems, but it's particularly important to avoid relying on code (or libraries containing code) that leverages internal ART structures, since ART changes aren't tied to the platform version the device is running on; they go out to over a billion devices through Google Play system updates.

For more information, see the Android 16 changes affecting all apps and the restrictions on non-SDK interfaces.

Migration or opt-out required for predictive back

For apps targeting Android 16 or higher and running on an Android 16 or higher device, the predictive back system animations (back-to-home, cross-task, and cross-activity) are enabled by default. Additionally, the deprecated onBackPressed is not called and KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK is no longer dispatched.

If your app intercepts the back event and you haven't migrated to predictive back yet, update your app to use supported back navigation APIs or temporarily opt out by setting the android:enableOnBackInvokedCallback attribute to false in the <application> or <activity> tag of your app’s AndroidManifest.xml file.

Predictive back support for 3-button navigation

Android 16 brings predictive back support to 3-button navigation for apps that have properly migrated to predictive back. Long-pressing the back button initiates a predictive back animation, giving users a preview of where the back button takes them.

This behavior applies across all areas of the system that support predictive back animations, including the system animations (back-to-home, cross-task, and cross-activity).

Fixed rate work scheduling optimization

Prior to targeting Android 16, when scheduleAtFixedRate missed a task execution due to being outside a valid process lifecycle, all missed executions will immediately execute when app returns to a valid lifecycle.

When targeting Android 16, at most one missed execution of scheduleAtFixedRate will be immediately executed when the app returns to a valid lifecycle. This behavior change is expected to improve app performance. Please test the behavior to ensure your application is not impacted. You can also test by using the app compatibility framework and enabling the STPE_SKIP_MULTIPLE_MISSED_PERIODIC_TASKS compat flag.

Ordered broadcast priority scope no longer global

In Android 16, broadcast delivery order using the android:priority attribute or IntentFilter#setPriority() across different processes will not be guaranteed. Broadcast priorities for ordered broadcasts will only be respected within the same application process rather than across all system processes.

Additionally, broadcast priorities will be automatically confined to the range (SYSTEM_LOW_PRIORITY + 1, SYSTEM_HIGH_PRIORITY - 1).

Your application may be impacted if it does either of the following:

      1. Your application has declared multiple processes that have set broadcast receiver priorities for the same intent.

      2. Your application process interacts with other processes and has expectations around receiving a broadcast intent in a certain order.

If the processes need to coordinate with each other, they should communicate using other coordination channels.

Gemini Extensions

Samsung just launched new Gemini Extensions on the S25 series, demonstrating new ways Android apps can integrate with the power of Gemini. We're working to make this functionality available on even more form factors.

Two Android API releases in 2025

This preview is for the next major release of Android with a planned launch in Q2 of 2025 and we plan to have another release with new developer APIs in Q4. The Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 to include planned behavior changes that could affect apps. The Q4 minor release will pick up feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes; it will not include any app-impacting behavior changes.

2025 SDK release timeline showing a features only update in Q1 and Q3, a major SDK release with behavior changes, APIs, and features in Q2, and a minor SDK release with APIs and features in Q4

We'll continue to have quarterly Android releases. The Q1 and Q3 updates, which will land in-between the Q2 and Q4 API releases, will provide incremental updates to ensure continuous quality. We’re putting additional energy into working with our device partners to bring the Q2 release to as many devices as possible.

There’s no change to the target API level requirements and the associated dates for apps in Google Play; our plans are for one annual requirement each year, tied to the major API level.

How to get ready

In addition to performing compatibility testing on this next major release, make sure that you're compiling your apps against the new SDK, and use the compatibility framework to enable targetSdkVersion-gated behavior changes as they become available for early testing.

App compatibility

The Android 16 production timeline shows the release stages, highlighting 'Beta Releases' and 'Platform Stability' in blue and green, respectively, from December to the final release.

The Android 16 Preview program runs from November 2024 until the final public release in Q2 of 2025. At key development milestones, we'll deliver updates for your development and testing environments. Each update includes SDK tools, system images, emulators, API reference, and API diffs. We'll highlight critical APIs as they are ready to test in the preview program in blogs and on the Android 16 developer website.

We’re targeting March of 2025 for our Platform Stability milestone. At this milestone, we’ll deliver final SDK/NDK APIs and also final internal APIs and app-facing system behaviors. From that time you’ll have several months before the final release to complete your testing. The release timeline details are here.

Get started with Android 16

Now that we've entered the beta phase, you can enroll any supported Pixel device to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air. If you don’t have a Pixel device, you can use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio.

If you are currently on Android 16 Developer Preview 2 or are already in the Android Beta program, you will be offered an over-the-air update to Beta 1.

If you are in Android 25Q1 Beta and would like to take the final stable release of 25Q1 and exit Beta, you need to ignore the over-the-air update to 25Q2 Beta 1 and wait for the release of 25Q1.

We're looking for your feedback so please report issues and submit feature requests on the feedback page. The earlier we get your feedback, the more we can include in our work on the final release.

For the best development experience with Android 16, we recommend that you use the latest preview of Android Studio (Meerkat). Once you’re set up, here are some of the things you should do:

    • Compile against the new SDK, test in CI environments, and report any issues in our tracker on the feedback page.
    • Test your current app for compatibility, learn whether your app is affected by changes in Android 16, and install your app onto a device or emulator running Android 16 and extensively test it.

We’ll update the preview/beta system images and SDK regularly throughout the Android 16 release cycle. Once you’ve installed a beta build, you’ll automatically get future updates over-the-air for all later previews and Betas.

For complete information, visit the Android 16 developer site.

Build kids app experiences for Wear OS

Posted by John Zoeller – Developer Relations Engineer, and Caroline Vander Wilt – Group Product Manager

New Wear OS features enable ‘standalone’ watches for kids, unlocking new possibilities for Wear OS app developers

In collaboration with Samsung, Wear OS is introducing Galaxy Watch for Kids, a new kids experience enabling kids to explore while staying connected with their families from their smartwatch, no phone necessary. This launch unlocks new opportunities for Wear OS developers to reach younger audiences.

Galaxy Watch for Kids is rolling out to Galaxy Watch7 LTE models , with features including:

    • No phone ownership required: This experience enables the watch and its associated apps to operate on a fully standalone basis using LTE, and when available, Wifi connectivity. This includes calling, texting, games, and more.
    • Selection of kid-friendly apps: From gaming to health, kids can browse and request installs of Teacher Approved apps and watch faces onGoogle Play. In addition to approving and blocking apps, parents can also monitor app usage from Google Family Link.
    • Stay in touch with parent-managed contacts: Parents can ensure safer communications by limiting text and calling to approved contacts.
    • Location sharing: Offers peace of mind with location sharing and geofencing notifications when kids leave or arrive at designated areas.
    • School time: Limits watch functionality during scheduled hours of the day, so kids can focus while in school or studying.

Building kids experiences with standalone functionality enables you to reach both standalone and tethered watches for kids. Apps like Math Tango have already created great Wear OS experiences for kids. Check out the video below to learn how they built a rich and engaging Wear OS app.

Our new kids-focused design and content principles and developer guidance are also available today. Check out some of the highlights in the next section.

New principles and guidelines for development

We've created new design principles and guidelines to help developers take advantage of this opportunity to build and improve apps and watch faces for kids.

Design principle: Active and fun

Build engaging healthy experiences for children by including activity-based features.

A great example of this is the Odd Squad Time Unit app from PBS KIDS that encourages children to get up and be physically active. By using the on-device sensors and power-efficient platform APIs, the app is able to provide a fun experience all day and still maintain battery life of the watch from wakeup to bed time.

A circular timer display with a hexagonal background 'JUMP!' and '5 SECONDS REMAIN'. A gold hand points to the number 5.  A colorful segmented ring surrounds the center of the timer.

Note that while experiences should be catered to kids, they must also follow the Wear OS quality requirements related to the visual experience of your app, especially when crafting touch targets and font sizes.

Content principle: Thoughtfully crafted

Consider adjusting your content to make it not only appropriate, but also consumable and intuitive for younger kids (including those as young as 6). This includes both audio and visual app components.

Tinkercast’s Two Whats?! And a Wow! app uses age-appropriate vocabulary and fun characters to aid in their teaching. It’s a great example of how a developer should account for reading comprehension.

A smartwatch face displays a cartoon bird with a speech bubble that says 'SWIPE TO VIEW YOUR OPTIONS!'. Yellow arrows point left and right with a large letter 'A' between them.

Development guidelines

New Wear OS kids apps must adhere to the Wear OS app quality guidelines, the guidelines for standalone apps, and the new Kids development guide.


Minimize impact on device battery

Minimize events that affect battery life over the course of one session. Kids use watches that provide important safety features for their parents or guardians, which depend on the device having enough battery life. Below are best practices for reducing battery impact.

      DO design for offline use cases so that kids can play without incurring network-related battery costs

      DO minimize tasks that require an internet or GPS connection

      🚫 DO NOT use direct sensor tracking as this will significantly reduce the battery life

      🚫 DO NOT include long-running animations


Choose a development environment

To develop kid-friendly apps and games you can use Compose for Wear OS, our recommended approach for building UI for Wear OS, as well as Unity for Android.

We recommend Unity for developing games on Wear OS if you’re familiar and comfortable with its workflows and capabilities. However, for games with only a few animations, Compose Animation should be sufficient and is better supported within the Android environment.

Be sure to consider that some Wear OS quality requirements may require custom Unity implementations, such as support for Rotary Input.

Originator’s MathTango showcases the flexibility and richness of developing with Unity:

A purple cartoon moose-like character with large antlers is displayed on a round smartwatch face. The name 'ISAAC' is shown below the character, along with the label 'NEW!'. A green arrow is visible in the top left corner of the screen.

Creating Watch Faces

Developing watch faces for kids requires the use of Watch Face Format. Watch faces should adhere to our content and design principles mentioned above, as well as our quality standards, including our ambient mode requirement.

The following examples demonstrate our Content Principle: Appealing. The content is relevant, engaging, and fun for kids, sparking their interest and imagination.

The Crayola Pets Watch Face comes with a great variety of customization options, and demonstrates an informative and pleasant watch face:

A circular watch face shows a cartoon character, the time (3:30), the date (Feb 10), and a battery indicator (89%).

The Marvel Watch Faces (Captain America shown) provide a fun and useful step tracking feature:

A round smartwatch face displays a cartoon Captain America, his shield, and the time (12:30). A step counter shows 650 steps. The Marvel logo is visible.

Kids experience publishing requirements

Developers looking to get started on a new kids experience will need to keep a few things in mind when publishing on the Play Store.

Expand your reach with Wear OS

Get ready to reach a new generation of Wear OS users! We've created all-new guidelines to help you build engaging experiences for kids. Here’s a quick recap:

With the Wear for Kids experience, developers can reach an entirely new audience of users and be part of the next generation of learning and enrichment on Wear OS.

Check out all of the new experiences on the Play Store!

Celebrating Another Year of #WeArePlay

Posted by Robbie McLachlan – Developer Marketing

This year #WeArePlay took us on a journey across the globe, spotlighting 300 people behind apps and games on Google Play. From a founder whose app uses AI to assist visually impaired people to a game where nimble-fingered players slice flying fruits and use special combos to beat their own high score, we met founders transforming ideas into thriving businesses.

Let’s start by taking a look back at the people featured in our global film series. From a mother and son duo preserving African languages, to a founder whose app helps kids become published authors - check out the full playlist.


We also continued our global tour around the world with:

And we released global collections of 36 stories, each with a theme reflecting the diversity of the app and game community on Google Play, including:


To the global community of app and game founders, thank you for sharing your inspiring journey. As we enter 2025, we look forward to discovering even more stories of the people behind games and apps businesses on Google Play.



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