Posted by Fahd Imtiaz – Product Supervisor, Android Developer
In case your app isn’t constructed to adapt, you’re lacking out on the chance to achieve an enormous swath of customers throughout 500 million gadgets! At Google I/O this yr, we’re exploring how adaptive improvement isn’t simply a good suggestion, however important to constructing apps that shine throughout the increasing Android gadget ecosystem. That is your information to assembly customers wherever they’re, with experiences which are completely tailor-made to their wants.
The benefit of constructing adaptive
In in the present day’s multi-device world, customers count on their favourite purposes to work flawlessly and intuitively, whether or not they’re on a smartphone, pill, or Chromebook. This expectation for seamless experiences is not nearly comfort; it is an vital issue for person engagement and retention.
For instance, leisure apps (together with Prime Video, Netflix, and Hulu) customers on each cellphone and pill spend nearly 200% extra time in-app (almost 3x engagement) than phone-only customers within the US*.
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service has seen a pattern of customers transferring between cellular and huge screens and constructing adaptively permits a single construct to work throughout the totally different type elements.
“This permits Peacock to have extra time to innovate quicker and ship extra worth to its prospects.”
– Diego Valente, Head of Cellular, Peacock and World Streaming
Adaptive Android improvement gives the strategic resolution, enabling apps to carry out successfully throughout an increasing array of gadgets and contexts by way of clever design selections that emphasize code reuse and scalability. With Android’s steady development into new type elements and upcoming enhancements reminiscent of desktop windowing and related shows in Android 16, an app’s means to seamlessly adapt to totally different display screen sizes is turning into more and more essential for retaining customers and staying aggressive.
Past direct person advantages, designing adaptively additionally interprets to elevated visibility. The Google Play Retailer actively helps promote builders whose apps excel on totally different type elements. In case your software delivers an incredible expertise on tablets or is superb on ChromeOS, customers on these gadgets can have a neater time discovering your app. This creates a win-win state of affairs: higher high quality apps for customers and a broader viewers for you.
Newest in adaptive Android improvement from Google I/O
That can assist you extra successfully construct compelling adaptive experiences, we shared a number of key updates at I/O this yr.
Construct for the increasing Android gadget ecosystem
Your cellular apps can now attain customers past telephones on over 500 million lively gadgets, together with foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and even suitable vehicles, with minimal adjustments. Android 16 introduces important developments in desktop windowing for a real desktop-like expertise on massive screens and when gadgets are related to exterior shows. And, Android XR is opening a brand new dimension, permitting your present cellular apps to be obtainable in immersive digital environments.
The mindset shift to Adaptive
With the increasing Android gadget ecosystem, adaptive app improvement is a elementary technique. It is about how the identical cellular app runs properly throughout telephones, foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, related shows, XR, and vehicles, laying a robust basis for future gadgets and differentiating for particular type elements. You needn’t rebuild your app for every type issue; however fairly make small, iterative adjustments, as wanted, when wanted. Embracing this adaptive mindset in the present day is not nearly protecting tempo; it is about main the cost in delivering distinctive person experiences throughout your entire Android ecosystem.
Leverage highly effective instruments and libraries to construct adaptive apps:
- Compose Adaptive Layouts library: This library makes adaptive improvement simpler by permitting your app code to suit into canonical format patterns like list-detail and supporting pane, that robotically reflow as your app is resized, flipped or folded. Within the 1.1 launch, we launched pane growth, permitting customers to resize panes. The Socialite demo app showcased how one codebase utilizing this library can adapt throughout six type elements. New adaptation methods like “Levitate” (elevating a pane, e.g., right into a dialog or backside sheet) and “Reflow” (reorganizing panes on the identical degree) have been additionally introduced in 1.2 (alpha). For XR, part overrides can robotically spatialize UI components.
- Jetpack Navigation 3 (Alpha): This new navigation library simplifies defining person journeys throughout screens with much less boilerplate code, particularly for multi-pane layouts in Compose. It helps deal with situations the place record and element panes is perhaps separate locations on smaller screens however proven collectively on bigger ones. Take a look at the brand new Jetpack Navigation library in alpha.
- Jetpack Compose enter enhancements: Compose’s layered structure, sturdy enter assist, and single location for format logic simplify creating adaptive UIs. Upcoming in Compose 1.9 are right-click context menus and enhanced trackpad/mouse performance.
- Window Measurement Courses: Use window measurement lessons for top-level format choices. AndroidX.window 1.5 introduces two new width measurement lessons – “massive” (1200dp to 1600dp) and “extra-large” (1600dp and bigger) – offering extra granular breakpoints for giant screens. This helps in deciding when to increase navigation rails or present three panes of content material. Assist for these new breakpoints was additionally introduced within the Compose adaptive layouts library 1.2 alpha, together with design steerage.
- Compose previews: Get fast suggestions by visualizing your layouts throughout all kinds of display screen sizes and side ratios. You may as well specify totally different gadgets by identify to preview your UI on their respective sizes and with their inset values.
- Testing adaptive layouts: Validating your adaptive layouts is essential and Android Studio gives varied instruments for testing – together with previews for various sizes and side ratios, a resizable emulator to check throughout totally different display screen sizes with a single AVD, screenshot exams, and instrumental conduct exams. And with Journeys with Gemini in Android Studio, you may outline exams utilizing pure language for much more sturdy testing throughout totally different window sizes.
Making certain app availability throughout gadgets
Keep away from unnecessarily declaring required options (like particular cameras or GPS) in your manifest, as this will forestall your app from showing within the Play Retailer on gadgets that lack these particular {hardware} elements however may in any other case run your app completely.
Dealing with totally different enter strategies
Keep in mind to deal with varied enter strategies like contact, keyboard, and mouse, particularly with Chromebook detachables and related shows.
Put together for orientation and resizability API adjustments in Android 16
Starting in Android 16, for apps concentrating on SDK 36, manifest and runtime restrictions on orientation, resizability, and side ratio will probably be ignored on shows which are no less than 600dp in each dimensions. To satisfy person expectations, your apps will want layouts that work for each portrait and panorama home windows, and assist resizing at runtime. There is a non permanent opt-out manifest flag at each the appliance and exercise degree to delay these adjustments till targetSdk 37, and these adjustments at present don’t apply to apps categorized as “Video games”. Study extra about these API adjustments.
Adaptive issues for video games
Video games have to be adaptive too and Unity 6 will add enhanced assist for configuration dealing with, together with APIs for screenshots, side ratio, and density. Success tales like Asphalt Legends Unite present important person retention will increase on foldables after implementing adaptive options.
Begin constructing adaptive in the present day
Now could be the time to raise your Android apps, making them intuitively responsive throughout type elements. With the most recent instruments and updates we’re introducing, you could have the facility to construct experiences that seamlessly move throughout all gadgets, from foldables to vehicles and past. Implementing these methods will mean you can increase your attain and delight customers throughout the Android ecosystem.
Get impressed by the “Adaptive Android improvement makes your app shine throughout gadgets” discuss, and discover all of the assets you’ll want to start out your journey at developer.android.com/adaptive-apps!
Discover this announcement and all Google I/O 2025 updates on io.google beginning Might 22.
*Supply: inner Google knowledge
