The last few days have brought some major announcements from Google, starting with the release of Android Pie in August and the Flutter Preview 2 at Google Developer Days China this month. Following closely came the announcement of the release of the stable version of Android Studio 3.2, which is all set to revolutionize the Android app development landscape with an array of exciting new features. With this latest release, developers will be easily able to develop Android App Bundle with Android P version. Let’s learn all about the features that Studio 3.2 brings.
1. Android Emulator Snapshots
Google has come up with the Android Emulator Snapshots for the developers to capture the snapshot or picture of the current state of the emulator at a super fast pace. This comprises the latest screenshot which includes the apps and settings. The developers can then continue or boot the emulator within just a few seconds.
2. Slices Support
The version has the built-in template for Slice that enables surfacing of the app’s content in Google Search as well as Google Assistant. As a result, app extension becomes easier because developers have access to the new Slice Provider APIs and lint checking.
3. Energy Profiler
The Energy Profiler is useful for understanding the energy impact of the app on an Android device as well as bringing improvement in the battery life of the device. It will enable the tracking of energy consumption of the apps, which can help the developer to manage it effectively in different scenarios.
4. Material Design Update
On migrating from Android Design support library to MaterialComponents app theme and library, the developer gets access to updated widgets such as text fields, new font styles, cards, buttons, BottomAppBar, and more.
5. Sample Data
Another feature of Android Studio 3.2 that simplifies the developer’s job is that he can utilize the placeholder data to visualize the layout design depending on the runtime data. The built-in sample data can be used for populating views such as ImageViews, RecyclerViews, and TextViews through a pop-up window in the Layout Editor.
6. The New Assistant
A new Assistant panel opens automatically in the Android Studio 3.2 as soon as the update is completed. The panel can also be opened by choosing the help option. It offers the key information related to the changes in the Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
7. CmakeList Editing Support
Next on this list is an improved support for CmakeList editing, which is particularly useful for those who use C/C++ in their app. The CMakeList build script command provides the access to code completion and syntax highlighting to simplify the development process.
8. Android App Bundle
The Android App Bundle aims to bring smaller APKs to the users to reduce the download size of the app. The new Dynamic model processes the app bundle to serve APKs that are optimized to the device configuration of each user. This enables the developers to build code as an app bundle and avail the advantage of smaller APKs based on the language, screen density, etc.
9. IntelliJ Platform Update
The new version also packs the IntelliJ Platform Update to bring extensive improvements to the data flow analysis, new inspections, debugging, partial Git commits inline external annotations and more.
10. Kotlin Update
Another feature that comes bundled up with Android Studio 3.2 is its compatibility with Kotlin 1.2.61 version.
11. AndroidX Refactoring Support
The Android Support Libraries have been replaced by the Android extension libraries (AndroidX) in this version. Additionally, it comes with a new built-in refactoring action to enable the migration of the project to new namespace and dependencies.
12. R8 Optimizer
ProGuard has been substituted by R8 in Android Studio 3.2 for optimizing and shrinking the Java language bytecode. However, R8 is still experimental and so it is advisable not to use it for publishing the app.
13. Screen Record in Android Emulator
The version provides a screen record capability in the Android Emulator for recording both screen and audio across any of the API levels. There is also a surplus facility of built-in conversion of output to GIF and WebM formats.
14. Microsoft Hyper-V Support
It is possible for Windows 10 users to avail Hyper-V support for running the Android Emulator faster. The Intel HAXM still continues to be the fastest Android Emulator. However, even after the open-source contributions by Microsoft, the addition of the Windows Hypervisor Platform (WHPX) API helps the Android Emulator to co-exist with the Hyper-V-backed applications.
15. AMD Processor Support
With the new version, the AMD processors are getting the support from the Android Emulator on Windows 10. Earlier, running the Android Emulator was dependent on the slow software emulation while running Windows, but the access to AMD price hardware-accelerated ware- accelerated performance.
16. Virtual Scene Camera For Android Emulator
Another cool new feature on this list is the Virtual Scene camera which proves to be an effective help to develop for ARCore, the platform for creating Augmented Reality experiences. The emulator has to be adjusted for carrying out the functions related to ARCore and can even be used as an HAL3-compatible camera.
17. ADB Connection Assistant
Studio 3.2 comes with a new ADB Connection Assistant system that enables the developers to fix the issues related to Android ADB device connections. The system can be used through the Run dialog or by navigating the tools to access the Connection Assistant.
18. Profiler Sessions
The version allows the developer to automatically save the Profiler data as sessions and re-visit them later when the Android Studio is open. Additionally, it is possible to export and import the CPU recordings and heap up the dumps which can be analyzed at a later stage with different tools.
19. JNI Reference Tracking
A feature that is highly beneficial for app developers who use C or C++ codes, the JNI reference tracking helps them in monitoring the memory allocation of the JNI code which is available within the Memory Profiler. However, this is possible only for devices running the Android 8.0 versions or higher.
20. Automatic CPU Recording
With the Studio version, it is possible to record the CPU with the aid of Debug API. The CPU recording is initiated automatically after the deployment of the app; the recording activity is started when the command startMethodTracing (String trace path) is called by the app and it is ended with the calling of stopMethodTracing() command.
Conclusion
With such a wide range of innovative features that it packs, Android Studio 3.2 serves as an ideal platform for bringing extensive performance improvement along with more stability for Android apps. No wonder, Android app developers are already talking about the adoption of this version. Whether you are planning to build a new app for your business or want to upgrade to this latest version, partnering with experts is the best way to do it.
Mobibiz is a mobile app development company that caters apps for Android and iOS platforms. We have a team of developers with the rich skill set and knowledge of the latest version upgrades. Contact us to learn more about Android Studio 3.2 if you are considering development or upgrade to this futuristic version.
