Every Sunday I publish the week’s Android updates. This week the Android ecosystem saw a significant number of updates, including new versions of various Jetpack libraries and improvements to Compose Multiplatform and Ktor. Let’s take a look at the latest changes that will definitely improve your development workflow.
Activity Version 1.9.3
The latest release of the Activity library focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements. One of the most notable fixes resolves issues with ActivityResultLauncher handling configuration changes without manual re-invocation.
Fixed configuration changes handling in ActivityResultLauncher.
Example ActivityResultLauncher:
val launcher = registerForActivityResult(ActivityResultContracts.TakePicture()) { result ->
if (result) {
// Handle the result of the picture
}
}
Annotation Version 1.9.0
This update introduces additional annotations to improve null safety and API contract enforcement at compile time.
Support for @NonNull and @Nullable annotations to enforce stricter null safety checks.
Example @NonNull and @Nullable:
fun processUser(@NonNull user: User) {
// Compiler ensures 'user' is non-null
}
AppSearch Version 1.1.0-alpha06
The AppSearch library has received optimizations for querying large datasets, significantly reducing execution time.
New Feature: Improved performance for large dataset queries.
Example AppSearch:
val searchResults = appSearchSession.search(
"userQuery",
SearchSpec.Builder()
.setRankingStrategy(SearchSpec.RANKING_STRATEGY_RELEVANCE)
.build()
)
Benchmark Version 1.3.3 and 1.4.0-alpha03
The Benchmark library received new tools for more accurate CPU tracing and performance benchmarking.
Key Improvements:
- Enhanced CPU profiling.
- Battery consumption profiling support added.
Camera Version 1.4.0-rc04
This release improves hardware-level image processing by utilizing device-specific optimizations.
Introduced hardware extension support for faster image processing.
Core Version 1.15.0-rc01
The Core library update enhances backward compatibility with Android 10 and earlier versions.
Improved support for Android 10 and lower versions.
Compose Animation Version 1.8.0-alpha04
Performance improvements were introduced for complex animations, making them smoother even on lower-end devices.
Enhanced AnimatedVisibility for more fluid transitions.
Example AnimatedVisibility:
AnimatedVisibility(visible = isVisible) {
Text(text = "Visible")
}
ConstraintLayout Version 2.2.0-rc01
This release optimizes complex layouts with multiple nested views, providing better performance and layout management.
Support for constraint chains in complex layouts.
Example ConstraintLayout:
ConstraintLayout {
val (text, button) = createRefs()
Text("Hello", Modifier.constrainAs(text) {
top.linkTo(parent.top)
})
Button(onClick = {}, Modifier.constrainAs(button) {
top.linkTo(text.bottom)
})
}
Compose Material3 Adaptive Version 1.1.0-alpha05
This update brings adaptive layout components that make it easier to design responsive UIs for foldable and large-screen devices.
Added support for WindowSizeClass and adaptive-navigation components.
Room Version 2.7.0-alpha10
This update introduces optimizations for large database queries, resulting in faster query execution times.
Improved query performance for large datasets.
Example Room Query:
@Query("SELECT * FROM user WHERE age > :age")
fun getUsersOlderThan(age: Int): List
Compose Multiplatform Version 1.7.0
The Compose Multiplatform 1.7.0 release introduces several exciting new features and performance enhancements. This version also provides tighter integration with Kotlin 2.0.20.
Key Changes:
- Type-safe navigation for Compose Multiplatform projects.
- Performance improvements for iOS, resulting in smoother rendering.
- New support for drag-and-drop on desktop platforms.
Example:
AnimatedVisibility(
visible = isVisible,
enter = fadeIn(),
exit = fadeOut()
) {
Text("Hello Compose Multiplatform!")
}
Ktor 3.0 and Koin 4.0 Updates
Ktor 3.0 brings enhanced support for asynchronous server and client development, while Koin 4.0 now integrates seamlessly with Kotlin 2.0.20 for faster and more stable dependency injection across Android, Compose, and Kotlin Multiplatform projects.
- Ktor now includes UUID-based scope management for improved instance identification.
- Koin 4.0 provides a more refined API for dependency injection in multiplatform environments.
Wear Compose Version 1.5.0-alpha04
The Wear Compose update introduces new APIs for creating more fluid interactions and drag-and-drop gestures on Wear OS devices.
Added support for drag and drop on Wear OS.
This week has brought several exciting updates, from performance improvements to new features in Jetpack libraries. Developers can now leverage these changes to create more efficient and dynamic Android apps. For more information on these updates, check out the official AndroidX release notes.
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