Tag Archives: launch

Introducing Android 8.0 Oreo

Posted By: Dave Burke, VP of Engineering

After more than a year of development and months of testing by developers and early adopters (thank you!), we're now ready to officially launch Android 8.0 Oreo to the world. Android 8.0 brings a ton of great features such as picture-in-picture, autofill, integrated Instant Apps, Google Play Protect, faster boot time, and much more.

We're pushing the sources to Android Open Source Project (AOSP) for everyone to access today. Pixel and Nexus 5X/6P builds have entered carrier testing and we expect to start rolling out in phases over the next several weeks, alongside Pixel C and Nexus Player. Android Beta users will receive the update to the final version today and images are available to download and flash manually. We've been working closely with our partners over the last many months, and by the end of this year, hardware makers like Essential, Huawei, HTC, Kyocera, Motorola, HMD Global Home of Nokia Phones, Samsung, Sharp and Sony are scheduled to be launching or upgrading new devices to Android 8.0 Oreo.

What's in Android Oreo?

In Android 8.0 Oreo we focused on creating fluid experiences that make Android even more powerful and easy to use, such as:

  • Picture-in-picture lets users manage two tasks simultaneously on any size screen, and it's easy for apps to support it. (Shown at right)
  • Notification dots extend the reach of notifications and offer a new way to surface activity in your apps. Dots work with zero effort for most apps -- we even extract the color of the dot from your icon.
  • Autofill framework simplifies how users set up a new device and synchronize their passwords. Apps using form data can optimize their apps for Autofill, and password manager apps can use the new APIs to make their services available to users in their favorite apps. Autofill will roll out fully over the next few weeks as part of an update to Google Play Services.

We also invested in Android Vitals, a project focused on optimizing battery life, startup time, graphics rendering, and stability, while giving developers better visibility over the health of their apps:

  • System optimizations: We worked across the system to help apps run faster and smoother -- for example, in the runtime we added a new concurrent compacting garbage collection, code locality, and more.
  • Background limits: We added new limits on background location and wi-fi scans and changes in the way apps run in the background. These boundaries prevent unintentional overuse of battery and memory and apply to all apps -- make sure you understand and account for these in your apps.
  • Complementary Android Vitals dashboards and IDE profilers: In the Play Console you can now see aggregate data about your app to help you pinpoint common issues - excessive crash rate, ANR rate, frozen frames, slow rendering, excessive wakeups, and more. You'll also find new performance profilers in Android Studio 3.0, and new instrumentation in the platform.

In Android 8.0 your app can directly pin a specific app shortcut in the launcher to drive engagement (left). Notification dots keep users active in your app and let them jump directly to the app's core functions (right).

For developers, Android Oreo includes many new capabilities to help you build better, more efficient apps. Here are just a few:

  • Autosizing textview: Use autosizing TextView to automatically fill a TextView with text, regardless of the amount. You can create an array of preset text sizes, or set min and max sizes with a step granularity, and the text will grow and shrink to fill the available TextView space.
  • Fonts in XML: Fonts are now a fully supported resource type. You can now use fonts in XML layouts and define font families in XML.
  • Downloadable fonts and emoji: With downloadable fonts you can load fonts from a shared provider instead of including them in your APK. The provider and support library manage the download of fonts and shares them across apps. The same implementation also supports downloadable emoji, so you can get updated emoji without being limited to the emoji built into the device.
  • Adaptive icons: You can now create adaptive icons that the system displays in different shapes, based on a mask selected by a device manufacturer. The system also animates interactions with the icons, and uses them in the launcher, shortcuts, settings, sharing dialogs, and in the overview screen.

Adaptive icons display in a variety of shapes across different device models.
  • Shortcut pinning: App shortcuts and homescreen widgets are great for engaging users and now you can let users add and pin shortcuts and widgets to the launcher from within your app. There's also a new option to add a specialized activity to help users create shortcuts. The activity is complete with custom options and confirmation.
  • Wide-gamut color for apps: Imaging apps can now take full advantage of new devices that have a wide-gamut color capable display. To display wide gamut images, apps enable a flag in their manifest files (per activity) and load bitmaps with an embedded wide color profile (AdobeRGB, Pro Photo RGB, DCI-P3, etc.).
  • WebView enhancements: In Android Oreo, we've enabled WebView multiprocess mode by default and added an API to let your app handle errors and crashes. You can also opt in your app's WebView objects to verify URLs through Google Safe Browsing.
  • Java 8 Language APIs and runtime optimizations: Android now supports several new Java Language APIs, including the new java.time API. In addition, the Android Runtime is faster than ever before, with improvements of up to 2x on some application benchmarks.

Learn more about these and other new features by visiting the Android 8.0 Oreo site on developer.android.com. Also check out the What's New in Android Oreo? video for an overview of new features for developers.

Make sure your apps are ready

If haven't already, take a few moments today to test your apps and make sure they offer the experience you want for users upgrading to Android Oreo.

Just install your current app from Google Play onto a device or emulator running Android Oreo and test the user flows. The app should run and look great, and handle the Android Oreo behavior changes properly. In particular, pay attention to background location limits, notification channels, and changes in networking, security, and identifiers.

Once you've resolved any issues, publish your app updates to Google Play in your alpha, beta, or production channels so that they're available as users start to receive Android 8.0 Oreo.

Speed your development with Android Studio

When you're ready to build with new APIs in Android Oreo, we recommend updating to the latest version of Android Studio 3.0, available for download from the beta channel. Aside from improved app performance profiling tools, support for the Kotlin programming language, and Gradle build optimizations, Android Studio 3.0 makes it easier to develop with Instant Apps, XML Fonts, downloadable fonts, and adaptive icons.

Android Studio 3.0 includes tools for developing with Android Oreo features, such as previewing XML font resources in your app.

We also recommend updating to the Android Support Library 26.0.2, available now from Google's Maven repository, and to the latest SDK, tools, and emulator system images, available in the SDK Manager.

If you're just getting started building for Android Oreo, read the migration guide first. It gives you an overview of the process and the configuration changes you'll need to make.

To compile against the official Android 8.0 APIs, update your project's compileSdkVersion to API 26. We also recommend updating your app's targetSdkVersion to API 26 to opt-in and test your app with Android Oreo specific behavior changes. See the migration guide for details on how to set up your environment to build with Android Oreo.

Publish your updates to Google Play

Google Play is open for apps compiled against or targeting API 26. When you're ready, you can publish your APK updates in your alpha, beta, or production channels.

Make sure that your updated app runs well on Android Oreo as well as older versions. We recommend using Google Play's beta testing feature to get early feedback from a small group of users, then do a staged rollout. We're looking forward to seeing your app updates!

What's next for Android Oreo?

We'll soon be closing the Developer Preview issue tracker, but please keep the feedback coming! You can file a new issue against Android 8.0 in the AOSP issue tracker.

Thanks again to the many developers and early adopters who participated in the Android O Developer Preview and public beta. You gave us great feedback, and filed hundreds of issues that helped us to make the Android Oreo platform great for consumers and developers.

5 tips for indie game success, from indie game developers

Posted by Sarah Thomson, BD Partnerships Lead, Indies, Google Play Games

Mobile gaming is a fun place to be right now. It's a landscape seeing tremendous success year after year with great potential for additional growth and innovation. It's also a space where developers can express themselves with creative game styles, mechanics, design and more. This is what the indie community does best.

Here are 5 tips for indies by indies, shared by our gaming partners at 505 Games, About Fun, Disruptor Beam, Klei Entertainment, and Schell Games.


1. Embrace being indie


Indies are inherently smaller operations and should embrace their agility and ability to take risks. Petr Vodak, CEO at About Fun, recommends getting your product out there so you can start taking feedback and apply your learnings to future projects. Don't be afraid to fail! Remaining flexible and building in modularity so you can evolve with the business needs is a strategy embraced by Pete Arden, CMO at Disruptor Beam. For instance, with their game Star Trek Timelines, the initial user experience was tailored to avid Star Trek fans. Over time, as user acquisition costs increased, they've changed the new player experience to appeal to their evolving user base of gamers looking for a fun entertainment experience and less the specific Star Trek IP.

2. Find a way to stand out


To help stand out in the ultra competitive mobile space, Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, recommends doing something clever or very different. This strategy has led them to explore the growth areas of new platforms such as AR & VR. While new platforms present a field for opportunity and creativity, they're best to be approached with the long term in mind allowing you to sustain the business until critical mass is reached.

3. Build a community


There are many ways to build communities. If you have an existing fan base on other platforms, cross-promote to drive awareness of your mobile offerings. You can also look at porting titles over, but be aware of the differences in mobile gaming habits and ensure you adapt your game accordingly.

4. Engage after install


Both 505 Games and Klei Entertainment recommend running your premium titles as a service. Through monitoring user reviews you can gain invaluable feedback and trends helping you better understand user pain points and desires. In addition, by releasing regular content updates and in-game events you create reason for users to get back in the game. This not only drives reengagement, but 505 Games also sees strong spikes in new installs aligned with major game updates.

5. Monetize in different ways


Similar strategy to above, dropping regular content refreshes and game updates while offering a variety of monetization options gives users more ways to engage with your game. Keeping your games fresh gives users reason to come back and builds loyalty so you can cross-promote to your users with future game launches.

If you're looking for a fun new game to play, check out the great selection on Indie Corner on Google Play. And if you're working on a new indie game of your own, nominate your title for inclusion.

Watch more sessions from Google Developer Day at GDC17 on the Android Developers YouTube channel to learn tips for success. Visit the Android Developers website to stay up-to-date with features and best practices that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.


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5 tips for building communities on mobile

Posted by Dave Geffon, Partnerships Manager, Google Play Games

The most successful games usually have the strongest communities. They are a powerful force in driving additional engagement and increasing awareness for your titles. At GDC 2017, we spoke with a few game developers about best practices for successfully building their own communities. Watch the panel session below to hear advice from Seriously, Social Point, and Super Evil MegaCorp.


1. Be authentic

Community is a mindset; be honest, transparent & patient with your communications. Loyal users are extremely valuable, thus the folks at Super Evil Megacorp say that you should act like you have to earn every player.

2. Start small

Build a plan and start today. Launch your social media channels, look into influencers, and create a strategy. Whether it's sharing one piece of fan art a week across your network, or running a closed beta to gather feedback from your most valued users, take action and learn what works best for you and your users.

3. Play match-maker

When finding influencers to support your game, ensure they're a genuine match. Make sure the influencer's audience is a good fit with your game and existing community.

4. Seek feedback 

Communities are passionate. Use feedback to understand what kind of game and features your users want. Be flexible and iterative so you can react and evolve your game with the needs and desires of your community. However, don't be afraid to stay true to what you stand for as sometimes you'll need to agree to disagree with some players.

5. Build for the long-term

The lifespan of games is continuing to grow. Plan your business strategy, update cycles and community efforts to roll out over time and expand with your growing experiences and user-base.
Watch more sessions from Google Developer Day at GDC17 on the Android Developers YT channel to learn tips for success. Also, visit the Android Developers website to stay up-to-date with features and best practices that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.

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5 Tips for launching successful apps and games on Google Play

Posted by Adam Gutterman, Go-To-Market Strategic Lead, Google Play Games

Last month at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), we held a developer panel focused on sharing best practices for building successful app and game businesses. Check out 5 tips for developers, both large and small, as shared by our gaming partners at Electronic Arts (EA), Hutch Games, Nix Hydra, Space Ape Games and Omnidrone.



1. Test, test, test

The best time to test, is before you launch; so test boldly and test a lot! Nix Hydra recommends testing creative, including art style and messaging, as well as gameplay mechanics, onboarding flows and anything else you're not sure about. Gathering feedback from real users in advance of launching can highlight what's working and what can be improved to ensure your game's in the best shape possible at launch.

2. Store listing experiments

Run experiments on all of your store listing page assets. Taking bold risks instead of making assumptions allows you to see the impact of different variables with your actual user base on Google Play. Test in different regions to ensure your store listing page is optimized for each major market, as they often perform differently.

3. Early Access program

Space Ape Games recently used Early Access to test different onboarding experiences and gameplay control methods in their game. Finding the right combination led them to double-digit growth in D1 retention. Gathering these results in advance of launch helped the team fine tune and polish the game, minimizing risk before releasing to the masses.

"Early Access is cool because you can ask the big questions and get real answers from real players," Joe Raeburn, Founding Product Guy at Space Ape Games.

 Watch the Android Developer Story below to hear how Omnidrone benefits from Early Access using strong user feedback to improve retention, engagement and monetization in their game.


Mobile game developer Omnidrone benefits from Early Access.

4. Pre-registration

 Electronic Arts has run more than 5 pre-registration campaigns on Google Play. Pre-registration allows them to start marketing and build awareness for titles with a clear call-to-action before launch. This gives them a running start on launch day having built a group of users to activate upon the game's release resulting in a jump in D1 installs.

5. Seek feedback

All partners strongly recommended seeking feedback early and often. Feedback tells both sides of the story, by pointing out what's broken as well as what you're doing right. Find the right time and channels to request feedback, whether they be in-game, social, email, or even through reading and responding to reviews within the Google Play store.

If you're a startup who has an upcoming launch on Google Play or has launched an app or game recently and you're interested in opportunities like Early Access and pre-registration, get in touch with us so we can work with you.

Watch sessions from Google Developer Day at GDC17 on the Android Developers YT channel to learn tips for success. Also, visit the Android Developers website to stay up-to-date with features and best practices that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.


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Introducing Google Developers India: A Local Youtube Channel for India’s Mobile Development Revolution

Posted By Peter Lubbers, Senior Program Manager

Today, we're launching the Google Developers India channel: a brand new Youtube channel tailored for Indian Developers. The channel will include original content like interviews with local experts, developer spotlights, technical tutorials, and complete Android courses to help you be a successful developer.

Why India?

By 2018, India will have the largest developer base in the world with over 4 million developers. Our initiative to train 2 million Indian developers, along with the tremendous popularity of mobile development in the country and the desire to build better mobile apps, will be best catered by an India-specific developers channel featuring Indian developers, influencers, and experts.



Here is a taste of what's to come in 2017:
  • Tech Interviews: Advice from India's top developers, influencers and tech experts.
  • Developer Stories: Inspirational stories of Indian developers.
  • DevShow India: A weekly show that will keep new and seasoned developers updated on all the news, trainings, and API's from Google.
  • Skilled to Scaled: A real life developer journey that takes us from the germination of an idea for an app, all the way to monetizing it on Google Play.
So what's next?


The channel is live now. Click hereto check it out.



Maps Engine API now at v1: Make Maps in Google’s Cloud

Maps are a wonderful tools for visualizing data. With Google Maps Engine, you can create, share, and host maps like these in the Cloud:


National Geographic Society’s
Ocean Atlas: Indian Ocean Floor
David Rumsey Map Collection’s
Japan 1891

City of Edmonton's
Traffic Incidents Bubbles


Last year we started rolling out features to enable full data management in Maps Engine via a REST API and a set of native client libraries (including Java, Python and Node.js), making the API easy to use from any application or platform (Android, web, iOS, and server environments). The API can be used to automate data updates, build custom apps on the Maps Engine platform, or use 3rd party tools to connect existing software with your data stored in Maps Engine.

Today we’re launching the Maps Engine API v1.0: you can now do any CRUD operation on Maps Engine data via the API. The API is fully covered by our service level agreement (SLA) and deprecation policy. There is also a great set of new tutorials and documentation to help get you started.

Take advantage of Maps Engine and its API to:
  1. Bring Maps Engine to your own application by connecting with Maps Engine via the API. Great examples of this are Safe Software’s FME tool which allows you to load data from Socrata to Maps Engine and the Open Data Kit Collect app which helps folks collecting data out in the field update straight into Maps Engine,
  1. Make your maps discoverable to the world by joining the Maps Engine public data program and publishing your maps to the public Google Maps Gallery, or
  2. Host and craft your own maps in Maps Engine by signing up for a free account or becoming a Maps for Work customer (for higher data limits and query capacity)

Keen to get started using the API? Then check out the video below for a crash course in Maps Engine and the API and these tutorials.



Posted by Jen Kovnats, Product Manager