Posted by Maru Ahues Bouza – Product Administration Director
Pixel simply introduced the most recent gadgets coming to the Android ecosystem, together with Pixel 9 Professional Fold and Pixel Watch 3. These gadgets convey innovation to the foldable and wearable areas, with bigger display sizes and distinctive efficiency.
Not solely are these gadgets thrilling for customers, however they’re additionally essential for builders to contemplate when constructing their apps. To organize you for the brand new Pixel gadgets and all of the improvements in giant screens and wearables, we’re diving into every part you must learn about constructing adaptive UIs, creating nice Put on OS 5 experiences, and enhancing your app for bigger watch shows.
Constructing for Pixel 9 Professional Fold with Adaptive UIs
Pixel unveiled their new foldable, Pixel 9 Professional Fold with Gemini, at Made By Google. This system has the most important interior show on a telephone1 and is 80% brighter than final yr’s Pixel Fold. When it’s folded, it’s similar to a daily telephone, with a 6.3-inch entrance show. Customers have choices for tips on how to have interaction and multitask primarily based on the display they’re utilizing and the folded state of their system – that means there are a number of completely different experiences that builders must be contemplating when constructing their apps.
Builders may also help their app look nice throughout the 4 completely different postures – interior, entrance, tabletop, and tent – out there on Pixel 9 Professional Fold by making their app adaptive. By dynamically adjusting their layouts—swapping parts and exhibiting or hiding content material primarily based on the out there window measurement quite than merely stretching UI parts—adaptive apps take full benefit of the out there window measurement to offer a terrific person expertise.
When constructing an adaptive app, our core steerage stays the identical – use WindowSizeClasses to outline particular breakpoints to your UI. Window measurement lessons allow you to vary your app structure because the show house out there to your app adjustments, for instance, when a tool folds or unfolds, the system orientation adjustments, or the app window is resized in multi‑window mode.
Introduced at Google I/O 2024, we’ve launched APIs that, underneath the hood, benefit from these WindowSizeClasses for you. These APIs present a brand new method to implement frequent adaptive layouts in Compose. The three parts within the library – NavigationSuiteScaffold, ListDetailPaneScaffold, and SupportingPaneScaffold – are designed that will help you construct an adaptive app with UI that appears nice throughout window sizes.
Lastly, builders who need to construct a very distinctive expertise for foldables ought to contemplate supporting tabletop mode, the place the telephone sits on a floor, the hinge is in a horizontal place, and the foldable display is half opened. You should utilize the Jetpack WindowManager library, leveraging FoldingFeature.State and FoldingFeature.Orientation to find out whether or not the system is in tabletop mode. As soon as the posture the system is in, replace your app structure accordingly. For instance, media apps that adapt to tabletop mode usually present audio data or a video above the fold and embody controls and supplementary content material slightly below the fold for a hands-free viewing or listening expertise.
Even video games are making use of foldable options: from racing video games like Asphalt Legends Unite and Disney Speedstorm to motion video games like Trendy Fight 5 and Dungeon Hunter 5, Gameloft optimized their video games so as to play not simply in full-screen but additionally in split-view tabletop mode which offers a handheld recreation console expertise. With useful options like detailed recreation maps and enhanced controls for extra immersive gameplay, you’ll be drifting round corners, leveling up your character, and beating the unhealthy guys in file time!
Getting ready for Pixel Watch 3: Put on OS 5 and Bigger Shows
Pixel Watch 3 is the most recent smartwatch engineered by Google, designed for efficiency in and out. With this new system, there are additionally new issues for builders. Pixel Watch 3 rings within the secure launch of Put on OS 5, the most recent platform model, and has the most important show ever from the Pixel Watch sequence – that means builders ought to take into consideration the updates launched in Put on OS 5 and the way their UI will look on assorted show sizes.
Put on OS 5 relies on Android 14, so builders ought to be aware of the system habits adjustments particular to Android 14. The system consists of help for the privateness dashboard, giving customers a centralized view of the info utilization for all apps operating on Put on OS 5. For apps which have up to date their goal SDK model to Android 14, there are a couple of further adjustments. For instance, the system strikes always-on apps to the background after they’re seen in ambient mode for a sure time frame. Moreover, watches that launch with Put on OS 5 or larger will solely help watch faces that use the Watch Face Format, so we suggest that builders migrate to utilizing the format. You possibly can see all of the habits adjustments you need to put together your app for.
One other essential consideration for builders is that the Pixel Watch 3 is obtainable in two sizes, 41 mm and 45 mm. Each sizes supply extra show house than ever2, having 16% smaller bezels, which supplies the 41 mm watch 10% extra display space and the 45 mm watch 40% extra display space than on the Pixel Watch 2! As a developer, assessment and apply the ideas on constructing adaptive layouts to present customers an optimum expertise. We created instruments and steerage on tips on how to develop apps and tiles for various display sizes. This steerage will assist to construct responsive layouts on the wrist utilizing the most recent Jetpack libraries, and make use of Android Studio’s preview help and screenshot testing to substantiate that your app works nicely throughout all screens.
Study extra about all these thrilling updates within the Constructing for the way forward for Put on OS technical session, shared throughout this yr’s Google I/O occasion.
Study extra about tips on how to get began making ready your app
With these new bulletins from Pixel, it’s a good time to verify your app seems nice on all of the screens your customers love most. Get your app prepared for giant screens by constructing adaptive layouts and study extra about all issues Put on OS on our Put on OS developer website. For recreation builders, make sure you learn our giant display recreation optimization information and verify the pattern venture to study the very best practices for leveling up your recreation for giant display and foldable gadgets.
For much more of the most recent from Android, tune into the Android Present on August twenty seventh. We’ll speak about Put on OS, adaptive apps, Jetpack Compose, and extra!
1 Amongst foldable telephones in the USA. Primarily based on interior show.
2 In contrast with Pixel Watch 2.
