Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Management, Android Developer
Today's Android 15 Beta 3 release brings Android 15 to Platform stabilitywhich means that the developer APIs and all app-facing behaviors are now final for you to review and integrate into your apps, and apps targeting Android 15 can be made available in Google Play. Thanks for all of your continued feedback to bring us to this milestone.
Android 15 continues our work to build a platform that helps you improve your productivity while giving you new ways to improve your productivity. superior media And AI experiencestake advantage of the device form factors, minimize battery impact, maximize smooth app performanceAnd protect the user's privacy and securityall on the most diverse devices.
Android delivers improvements and new features throughout the year, and your feedback on the Android Beta program plays an important role in helping Android to continuously improve. The Android 15 Developer Site has a lot more information about the beta, including how to get it on devices and the release timelineWe are looking forward to it hear what you thinkand thanks in advance for your continued help in making Android a platform that works for everyone.
Given where we are in the release cycle, there are a few new things in the Android 15 Beta 3 release that you should keep in mind when developing your apps.
Improved user experience for passwords and Credential Manager
Users will be able to sign in to apps targeting Android 15 in one step using passcodes with facial recognition, fingerprint, or screen lock. If they accidentally ignore the prompt to use a passcode to sign in, they may see the passcode or other Credential Manager suggestions in conditional autofill UIs, such as keyboard suggestions or dropdowns.
One-step UI experience
Fallback UI experience
Credential Provider Integration for Single-Step UI
Registered reference providers can use the upcoming APIs in Jetpack androidx.references library to offload the user authentication mechanism to the system UIenabling one-step verification on Android 15 devices.
App integration for autofill fallback UI
When you present the user with a selector at login using Credential Manager APIs, you can: associate a Credential Manager request with a specific viewsuch as a username or password field. When the user targets one of these views, Credential Manager receives a corresponding request and displays resulting credentials collected by the provider in autofill fallback UIs, such as inline or dropdown suggestions.
WebSQL deprecated in Android WebView
The setDatabaseEnabled And getDatabaseEnabled WebSettings are now deprecated. These settings are used for WebSQL support in Webview. WebSQL has been removed in Chrome and is now deprecated on Android Webview. These methods will be no-op on all Android versions in the next 12 months.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) encourages apps that require web databases to be adopted Web Storage API technologies such as IndexedDB.
If you are developing an SDK, library, tool, or game engine, it is even more important to prepare all necessary updates now to avoid blocking your downstream app and game developers from compatibility issues and to allow them to focus on the latest SDK features. Let your developers know if any updates are needed to fully support Android 15.
Testing your app involves installing your production app via Google Play or other means on a device or emulator running Android 15 Beta 3. Work through all the flows of your app and look for any functional or UI issues. Check out the behavioral changes to focus your testing. Every release of Android includes platform changes that improve privacy, security, and overall user experience, and these changes can impact your apps. Here are some changes to focus on that apply even if you’re not targeting Android 15 yet:
- Support for 16 KB page sizes – Starting with Android 15, Android supports devices configured to use a 16KB page size. If your app or library uses the NDK, either directly or indirectly via an SDK, you will likely need to rebuild your app to make it work on these devices.
- Support for private spaces – Private space is a new feature in Android 15 that allows users to create a separate space on their device where they can protect sensitive apps from prying eyes, using an extra layer of authentication.
Remember to thoroughly exercise the libraries and SDKs your app uses during your compatibility testing. You may need to update to current SDK versions or contact the developer for assistance if you encounter any issues.
Once you have published the Android 15 compatible version of your app, you can start using the process Unpleasant Update your app's targetSdkVersion. View the Behavioral changes that apply when your app targets Android 15 and use the compatibility framework to quickly detect issues.
Today's beta has everything you need to try out Android 15's features, test your apps, and let us know. feedbackNow that we are in beta, you can check here to receive information about registering your device; Register supported Pixel devices will deliver this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air. If you don't have a supported device, you can use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio. If you are already in the Android 14 QPR Beta Program On a supported device, you will be automatically updated to Android 15 Beta 3.
For the best development experience with Android 15, we recommend that you the latest version of Android Studio Koala. Once you to set uphere are some things you need to do:
- Try the new features and APIs – Your feedback is crucial during the early stages of the Developer Preview and Beta program. Please report any issues in our tracker on the feedback page.
- Test your current app for compatibility – Find out if your app is affected by changes in Android 15; install your app on a device or emulator running Android 15 and test it extensively.
- Update your app with the Android SDK Upgrade Assistant – The latest Android Studio Koala Feature Drop release now includes changes to the Android 15 API and guides you through the steps to upgrade your Android version. targetSdkVersion with the Android SDK Upgrade Assistant.
We will continue to update the beta system images and SDK regularly throughout the remainder of the Android 15 release cycle. Read more here.
For full information, visit the Android 15 Developer Site.
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