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Android developer news and features round-up: April 2019
It’s time for another developer news roundup, where we look at biggest the news and best dev content from last month. April was a pretty busy time, with a new Android Q beta, the launch of Unity 2019.1, and Android Studio 3.4 — and Google I/O is just around the corner!
We’ve been pushing forward with a whole lot more dev content here at Android Authority over the last couple of months. There’s even more news coverage, tutorials, projects, and features to sink your teeth into. That’s going to be the status quo going forward, so keep your eyes peeled for much more coming soon.
For all the latest headlines, check the links below.
Features and news from Android Authority.com
NEWS Android Q (Beta 2): Everything developers need to know — This post explains everything developers need to know about the upcoming Android Q. Be ready!
NEWS Unity 2019.1 brings exciting new features for Android game developers — Unity’s 2019.1 update brings a lot of exciting new functionality that is relevant to mobile developers specifically. This detailed deep dive will bring you up to speed.
NEWS Developing for foldable devices: What you need to know — This post takes a look at what it takes to prep an app for the upcoming slew of folding devices. Also: how to test a folding device right now!
Build variants, Gradle tasks, and Kotlin: Mastering Gradle for Android — Still confused by what’s going on with Gradle? This post will explain all.
Converting speech to text: How to create a simple dictation app — Adding voice commands to your app can do wonders for accessibility and ease of interaction. This post explains how.
Become an iOS developer: How to start developing for iPad and iPhone — Android isn’t the only mobile platform out there. If you want to see what it would take to bring an app to iOS, this post will explain all.
Learn C# for Android part 2 – Classes and loops (also: rabbits!) — A continuation from last month’s C# tutorial. This one explains classes and loops and shows how to make the transition to Android development specifically.
How to make and share your own custom icon packs — Creating an icon pack is nowhere near as easy as you may expect it to be. This post will get you started, provide an open-source project to build from, and suggest alternative options.
How to use fragments in your Android apps for a powerful and dynamic UI (update) — Updated old post explaining how to use fragments for a powerful and dynamic UI.
Build an augmented reality Android app with AR core — AR is arguably still one of the most exciting things happening in mobile apps right now. Get involved, starting here.
Recognizing text, faces and landmarks: Adding machine learning to your Android app — Machine learning is the other big news, and this is another great project to get you started.
News and updates from Android Developers Blog
NEWS Android Studio 3.4 — Android Studio 3.4 is now available on the stable release channel. This release bears the fruits of the “Project Marble” initiative, which aims to improve fundamental features and workflow. There’s also a new app resource management tool, and a more efficient emulator with Android Q support. Much more detailed information in the post.
Android Q Scoped Storage: Best Practices and Updates — Scoped storage changes the way you store and access files from Android devices. This post explains the best ways to navigate the changes.
And the 2019 Google Play Award nominees are… — These are the apps Google will highlight at Google I/O 2019. These guys must be doing something right, so these are the apps we can be learning from.
Improving the update process with your feedback — Google has heard your complaints and is seeking to improve transparency and minimize workloads for developers when introducing policy and API changes.
Optimizing your subscriptions with new insights in the Play Console — New insights should provide useful data for apps on a subscription payment model.
A simpler experience for instant apps — The feature plugin and instant app plugin are deprecated as of Android 3.4. Developers should now rely purely on Android App Bundles, and the Dynamic Delivery system.
ML Kit expands into NLP with Language Identification and Smart Reply — ML Kit continues to get smarter with two new features.
Features and projects from around the web
Android Q – Implementing Bubbles — This is a great primer on bubbles, one of the new multitasking features coming in Android Q.
Playing with Foldables in Android Q — Another take on readying your apps for foldable devices.
Why Kotlin Sucks — It’s fun to take a controversial stance sometimes! Disclaimer: the author admits Kotlin does not suck. But it’s certainly not perfect either.
Flutter: Everything is Widgets Series — This post explains one simple truth about Flutter that should help new developers understand it better.
Xcode & Android Studio shortcut cheatsheet — Got to love a good cheatsheet!
PDF Rendering in Android – from raw/assets and internal storage — Useful if you want to make an ebook app.
Does a Programmer Still Need to Read Books? — A good question and a fun opinion piece.
And that’s a wrap for our developer wrap-up. See you next month!