At Google I/O 2023, Google showcased how AI breakthroughs are transforming various aspects of Google. For Android developers, AI technology aims to enhance their workflow and save time, enabling them to focus on creating engaging experiences for users. As users expect support across a range of devices, including large screens and wearables, time-saving tools become increasingly valuable. Throughout the Google and Developer Keynotes, Android presented numerous ways to assist developers in their mission to deliver exceptional user experiences. This article highlights 14 new developments in the Android developer world, including an exciting glimpse at the latest Android 14 Beta.

1: Leverage AI in Development with Studio Bot

Google introduced Studio Bot, an AI-powered conversational experience within Android Studio. It assists developers in generating code, fixing coding errors, and enhancing productivity. While still in its early stages, Studio Bot is continuously trained to provide better answers and help developers learn best practices. To get started, developers are encouraged to read the Android Studio blog, download the latest version of Android Studio, and explore the documentation.

2: Generate Play Store Listings with AI

Google now offers the use of Generative-AI technology in the Google Play Console to assist developers in drafting store listings. By providing a few prompts such as the target audience and key theme, developers can generate a draft listing that can be edited, discarded, or used. Developers maintain complete control over what is submitted and published on Google Play, as they can review and modify the generated draft.

3: Going Big on Android Foldables & Tablets

Google is heavily invested in large screens, with the introduction of two new Android devices: the Pixel Fold and the Pixel Tablet. Additionally, over 50 Google apps have been optimized for the Android large-screen ecosystem. Developers can start optimizing their apps for these devices using tools like the new Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet emulator configurations in Android Studio Hedgehog Canary 3, along with expanded Material design updates and inspiration for gaming and creativity apps. To learn more, developers can read the guidelines for optimizing Android apps for large screens and foldable, as well as watch the relevant session on developing high-quality apps.

4: Wear OS: Watch Faces, Wear OS 4, & Tiles Animations

With the significant growth of Wear OS active devices, developers have more reasons than ever to create excellent app experiences for smartwatches. Google announced the new Watch Face Format, a declarative XML format developed in partnership with Samsung, to simplify the creation of watch faces. Additionally, new APIs have been released to enable rich animations in tiles, and developers can prepare for future platform updates with the Wear OS 4 Developer Preview. Developers can stay updated by reading the blog, watching the session, and exploring the brand-new Wear OS gallery.

5: Android Health: Interconnected Health Experiences

Google is improving Android Health offerings by fostering collaboration among developers to deliver unique health and fitness experiences. With over 50 apps in the Health Connect ecosystem and integration with 100+ apps through Health Services, users can expect an interconnected health experience. The upcoming release of Android 14 will introduce Health Connect, enabling users to have better control over the sharing of their health data across apps. Developers can learn more about these updates by exploring the Health Services and Health Connect documentation, as well as reviewing the code samples.

6: Android for Cars: New Apps & Experiences

Google's efforts in the automotive industry continue to expand. Android Auto will be available in 200 million cars this year, and the number of cars with Google built-in is set to double. Developers can now port existing Android apps to cars more easily and create entirely new experiences such as video and games. To begin developing for Android Auto, developers can refer to the "What's New with Android for Cars" session and the developer blog.

7: Android TV: Compose for TV and More!

Google remains committed to bringing the best of the app ecosystem to Android TV OS. They have announced Compose for TV, a UI framework specifically designed for developing visually appealing and functional apps for Android TV OS. Developers can explore the new blog post, developer guides, design references, codelabs, and sample code to learn more about Compose for TV. Feedback from developers is also encouraged to further shape Compose for TV to meet their needs.

8: Assistant: Simplified Voice Experiences across Android

Integrating Google Assistant into Android development paths has become easier. The new App Actions Test Library and the Google Assistant plugin for Android Studio (now available for Wear and Auto as well) simplify coding, user experience emulation, and deployment of App Actions integrations. Developers can refer to the session on "What's New in Android Development Tools" and review the developer documentation to get started.

9: Build UI with Compose Across Screens

Jetpack Compose, the modern UI toolkit for Android development, continues to gain popularity. Currently, 24% of the top 1000 apps on Google Play are utilizing Jetpack Compose, with its adoption doubling in the past year. Compose is expanding to more surfaces, including Compose for TV (in alpha) and home screen widgets with Glance (in beta). Developers interested in building UI across screens can learn more about these updates and start utilizing Compose.

10: Use Kotlin Everywhere, Throughout Your App

Kotlin remains a central part of the Android development platform, with increasing support for Android apps. Collaboration with JetBrains on the new K2 compiler and integration into tools like Android Studio, Android Lint, KSP, and Compose ensures broader Kotlin compatibility. Developers are now recommended to use Kotlin DSL for building scripts. To learn more, developers can watch the "What's New in Kotlin for Android" talk.

11: App Quality Insights with Android Vitals Reports

Android Studio's App Quality Insights provides direct access to Firebase Crashlytics issue reports within the IDE. Developers can easily navigate between stack traces and code, apply filters to focus on critical issues, and review report details for issue reproduction. The latest release of Android Studio enables viewing important crash reports from Android Vitals without requiring additional SDKs or instrumentation. Developers can stay informed about updates on Android Studio features through the Hedgehog release.

12: What's New in Play

Google Play introduces various updates to facilitate audience growth and monetization. Custom store listings can now be created for specific user segments, including inactive users and traffic from Google Ads campaigns. Listing groups have been introduced to simplify the creation and maintenance of multiple listings. Monetization strategies can be optimized through price experiments for in-app products and new subscription capabilities offering multiple prices per billing period. Developers can learn more about these updates by reading the Play blog post.

13: Design Beautiful Android Apps with the Android UI Design Hub

For developers seeking to create user-friendly interfaces across different form factors, Google has launched the Android UI Design Hub. This comprehensive resource offers guidance, takeaways, examples, do's and don'ts, Figma starter kits, UI code samples, and inspirational galleries, making it easier to build compelling UI for Android apps.

14: Android 14: New Features and Enhancements

Android 14 Beta 2 has been released, bringing improvements in camera and media, privacy and security, system UI, and developer productivity. Exciting new features and changes include Health Connect, Ultra HDR for images, predictive back, ML Kit's new APIs (face mesh and document scanner), and the public beta release of Acceleration Service in the custom ML stack. Developers can learn more about Beta 2, download the beta onto supported devices, or test their apps in the Emulator.

For more information, please visit the Android developer's website