Posted by Fahd Imtiaz, Product Manager, Android Developer Experience

Today, Android is launching a few updates across the platform! This includes the start of Android 16’s rollout, with details for both developers and users, a Developer Preview for enhanced Android desktop experiences with connected displays, and updates for Android users across Google apps and more, plus the June Pixel Drop. We’re also recapping all the Google I/O updates for Android developers focused on building excellent, adaptive Android apps.

With new form factors emerging continually, the Android ecosystem is more dynamic than ever.

From phones and foldables to tablets, Chromebooks, TVs, cars, Wear and XR, Android users expect their apps to run seamlessly across an increasingly diverse range of form factors. Yet, many Android apps fall short of these expectations as they are built with UI constraints such as being locked to a single orientation or restricted in resizability.

With this in mind, Android 16 introduced API changes for apps targeting SDK level 36 to ignore orientation and resizability restrictions starting with large screen devices, shifting toward a unified model where adaptive apps are the norm. This is the moment to move ahead. Adaptive apps aren’t just the future of Android, they’re the expectation for your app to stand out across Android form factors.

Why you should prioritize adaptive now

Source: internal Google data

Prioritizing optimizations to make your app adaptive isn’t just about keeping up with the orientation and resizability API changes in Android 16 for apps targeting SDK 36. Adaptive apps unlock tangible benefits across user experience, development efficiency, and market reach.

• Mobile apps can now reach users on over 500 million active large screen devices: Mobile apps run on foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and even compatible cars, with minimal changes. Android 16 will introduce significant advancements in desktop windowing for a true desktop-like experience on large screens, including connected displays. And Android XR opens a new dimension, allowing your existing apps to be available in immersive environments. The user expectation is clear: a consistent, high-quality experience that intelligently adapts to any screen – be it a foldable, a tablet with a keyboard, or a movable, resizable window on a Chromebook.

• “The new baseline” with orientation and resizability API changes in Android 16: We believe mobile apps are undergoing a shift to have UI adapt responsively to any screen size, just like websites. Android 16 will ignore app-defined restrictions like fixed orientation (portrait-only) and non-resizable windows, beginning with large screens (smallest width of the device is >= 600dp) including tablets and inner displays on foldables. For most apps, it’s key to helping them stretch to any screen size. In some cases if your app isn’t adaptive, it could deliver a broken user experience on these screens. This moves adaptive design from a nice-to-have to a foundational requirement.

• Increase user reach and app discoverability in Play: Adaptive apps are better positioned to be ranked higher in Play, and featured in editorial articles across form factors, reaching a wider audience across Play search and homepages. Additionally, Google Play Store surfaces ratings and reviews across all form factors. If your app is not optimized, a potential user’s first impression might be tainted by a 1-star review complaining about a stretched UI on a device they don’t even own yet. Users are also more likely to engage with apps that provide a great experience across their devices.
• Increased engagement on large screens: Users on large screen devices often have different interaction patterns. On large screens, users may engage for longer sessions, perform more complex tasks, and consume more content.

Concepts saw a 70% increase in user engagement on large screens after optimizing.

Usage for 6 major media streaming apps in the US was up to 3x more for tablet and phone users, as compared to phone only users.

• More accessible app experiences: According to the World Bank, 15% of the world’s population has some type of disability. People with disabilities depend on apps and services that support accessibility to communicate, learn, and work. Matching the user’s preferred orientation improves the accessibility of applications, helping to create an inclusive experience for all.

Today, most apps are building for smartphones only

“…looking at the number of users, the ROI does not justify the investment”.

That’s a frequent pushback from product managers and decision-makers, and if you’re just looking at top-line analytics comparing the number of tablet sessions to smartphone sessions, it might seem like a closed case.

While top-line analytics might show lower session numbers on tablets compared to smartphones, concluding that large screens aren’t worth the effort based solely on current volume can be a trap, causing you to miss out on valuable engagement and future opportunities.

Let’s take a deeper look into why:

1. The user experience ‘chicken and egg’ loop: Is it possible that the low usage is a symptom rather than the root cause? Users are quick to abandon apps that feel clunky or broken. If your app on large screens is a stretched-out phone interface, the app likely provides a negative user experience. The lack of users might reflect the lack of a good experience, not always necessarily lack of potential users.

2. Beyond user volume, look at user engagement: Don’t just count users, analyze their worth. Users interact with apps on large screens differently. The large screen often leads to longer sessions and more immersive experiences. As mentioned above, usage data shows that engagement time increases significantly for users who interact with apps on both their phone and tablet, as compared to phone only users.

3. Market evolution: The Android device ecosystem is continuing to evolve. With the rise of foldables, upcoming connected displays support in Android 16, and form factors like XR and Android Auto, adaptive design is now more critical than ever. Building for a specific screen size creates technical debt, and may slow your development velocity and compromise the product quality in the long run.

Okay, I am convinced. Where do I start?

For organizations ready to move forward, Android offers many resources and developer tools to optimize apps to be adaptive. See below for how to get started:

1.Check how your app looks on large screens today: Begin by looking at your app’s current state on tablets, foldables (in different postures), Chromebooks, and environments like desktop windowing. Confirm if your app is available on these devices or if you are unintentionally leaving out these users by requiring unnecessary features within your app.

2. Address common UI issues: Assess what feels awkward in your app UI today. We have a lot of guidance available on how you can easily translate your mobile app to other screens.

a. Check the Large screens design gallery for inspiration and understanding how your app UI can evolve across devices using proven solutions to common UI challenges.

b. Start with quick wins. For example, prevent buttons from stretching to the full screen width, or switch to a vertical navigation bar on large screens to improve ergonomics.

c. Identify patterns where canonical layouts (e.g. list-detail) could solve any UI awkwardness you identified. Could a list-detail view improve your app’s navigation? Would a supporting pane on the side make better use of the extra space than a bottom sheet?

3. Optimize your app incrementally, screen by screen: It may be helpful to prioritize how you approach optimization because not everything needs to be perfectly adaptive on day one. Incrementally improve your app based on what matters most – it’s not all or nothing.

a. Start with the foundations. Check out the large screen app quality guidelines which tier and prioritize the fixes that are most critical to users. Remove orientation restrictions to support portrait and landscape, and ensure support for resizability (for when users are in split screen), and prevent major stretching of buttons, text fields, and images. These foundational fixes are critical, especially with API changes in Android 16 that will make these aspects even more important.

b. Implement adaptive layout optimizations with a focus on core user journeys or screens first.

i. Identify screens where optimizations (for example a two-pane layout) offer the biggest UX win

ii. And then proceed to screens or parts of the app that are not as often used on large screens

c. Support input methods beyond touch, including keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and stylus input. With new form factors and connected displays support, this sets users up to interact with your UI seamlessly.

d. Add differentiating hero user experiences like support for tabletop mode or dual-screen mode on foldables. This can happen on a per-use-case basis – for example, tabletop mode is great for watching videos, and dual screen mode is great for video calls.

While there’s an upfront investment in adopting adaptive principles (using tools like Jetpack Compose and window size classes), the long-term payoff may be significant. By designing and building features once, and letting them adapt across screen sizes, the benefits outweigh the cost of creating multiple bespoke layouts. Check out the adaptive apps developer guidance for more.

Unlock your app’s potential with adaptive app design

The message for my fellow product managers, decision-makers, and businesses is clear: adaptive design will uplevel your app for high-quality Android experiences in 2025 and beyond. An adaptive, responsive UI is the scalable way to support the many devices in Android without developing on a per-form factor basis. If you ignore the diverse device ecosystem of foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and emerging form factors like XR and cars, your business is accepting hidden costs from negative user reviews, lower discovery in Play, increased technical debt, and missed opportunities for increased user engagement and user acquisition.

Maximize your apps’ impact and unlock new user experiences. Learn more about building adaptive apps today.

Posted by Francesco Romano – Developer Relations Engineer on Android, and Fahd Imtiaz – Product Manager, Android Developer

Today, Android is launching a few updates across the platform! This includes the start of Android 16’s rollout, with details for both developers and users, a Developer Preview for enhanced Android desktop experiences with connected displays, and updates for Android users across Google apps and more, plus the June Pixel Drop. We’re also recapping all the Google I/O updates for Android developers focused on building excellent, adaptive Android apps.

Android has continued to evolve to enable users to be more productive on large screens.

Today, we’re excited to share that connected displays support on compatible Android devices is now in developer preview with the Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 release. As shown at Google I/O 2025, connected displays enable users to attach an external display to their Android device and transform a small screen device into a powerful tool with a large screen. This evolution gives users the ability to move apps beyond a single screen to unlock Android’s full productivity potential on external displays.

The connected display update builds on our desktop windowing experience, a capability we previewed last year. Desktop windowing is set to launch later this year for users on compatible tablets running Android 16. Desktop windowing enables users to run multiple apps simultaneously and resize windows for optimal multitasking. This new windowing capability works seamlessly with split screen and other multitasking features users already love on Android and doesn’t require switching to a special mode.

Google and Samsung have collaborated to bring a more seamless and powerful desktop windowing experience to large screen devices and phones with connected displays in Android 16 across the Android ecosystem. These advancements will enhance Samsung DeX, and also extend to other Android devices.

For developers, connected displays and desktop windowing present new opportunities for building more engaging and more productive app experiences that seamlessly adapt across form factors. You can try out these features today on your connected display with the Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 on select Pixel devices.

What’s new in connected displays support?

When a supported Android phone or foldable is connected to an external display through a DisplayPort connection, a new desktop session starts on the connected display. The phone and the external display operate independently, and apps are specific to the display on which they’re running.

The experience on the connected display is similar to the experience on a desktop, including a task bar that shows running apps and lets users pin apps for quick access. Users are able to run multiple apps side by side simultaneously in freely resizable windows on the connected display.

Phone connected to an external display, with a desktop session on the display while the phone maintains its own state.

When a desktop windowing enabled device (like a tablet) is connected to an external display, the desktop session is extended across both displays, unlocking an even more expansive workspace. The two displays then function as one continuous system, allowing app windows, content, and the cursor to move freely between the displays.

Tablet connected to an external display, extending the desktop session across both displays.

A cornerstone of this effort is the evolution of desktop windowing, which is stable in Android 16 and is packed with improvements and new capabilities.

Desktop windowing stable release

We’ve made substantial improvements in the stability and performance of desktop windowing in Android 16. This means users will encounter a smoother, more reliable experience when managing app windows on connected displays. Beyond general stability improvements, we’re introducing several new features:

• Flexible window tiling: Multitasking gets a boost with more intuitive window tiling options. Users can more easily arrange multiple app windows side by side or in various configurations, making it simpler to work across different applications simultaneously on a large screen.
• Multiple desktops: Users can set up multiple desktop sessions to match their distinct productivity requirements and switch between the desktops using keyboard shortcuts, trackpad gestures, and Overview.
• Enhanced app compatibility treatments: New compatibility treatments ensure that even legacy apps behave more predictably and look better on external displays by default. This reduces the burden on developers while providing a better out-of-the-box experience for users.
• Multi-instance management: Users can manage multiple instances of supporting applications (for example, Chrome or, Keep) through the app header button or taskbar context menu.
  This allows for quick switching between different instances of the same app.
• Desktop persistence: Android can now better maintain window sizes, positions, and states across different desktops. This means users can set up their preferred workspace and have it restored across sessions, offering a more consistent and efficient workflow.

Best practices for optimal app experiences on connected displays

With the introduction of connected display support in Android, it’s important to ensure your apps take full advantage of the new display capabilities. To help you build apps that shine in this enhanced environment, here are some key development practices to follow:

Build apps optimized for desktop

• Design for any window size: With phones now connecting to external displays, your mobile app can run in a window of almost any size and aspect ratio. This means the app window can be as big as the screen of the connected display but also flex to fit a smaller window. In desktop windowing, the minimum window size is 386 x 352 dp, which is smaller than most phones. This fundamentally changes how you need to think about UI. With orientation and resizability changes in Android 16, it becomes even more critical for you to update your apps to support resizability and portrait and landscape orientations for an optimal experience with desktop windowing and connected displays. Make sure your app supports any window size by following the best practices on adaptive development.
• Implement features for top productivity: You now have all the tools necessary to build mobile apps that match desktop, so start adding features to boost users productivity! Allow users to open multiple instances of the same app, which is invaluable for tasks like comparing documents, managing different conversations, or viewing multiple files simultaneously. Support data sharing with drag and drop, and maintain user flow across configuration changes by implementing a robust state management system.

Handle dynamic display changes

• Don’t assume a constant Display object: The Display object associated with your app’s context can change when an app window is moved to an external display or if the display configuration changes. Your app should gracefully handle configuration change events and query display metrics dynamically rather than caching them.
• Account for density configuration changes: External displays can have vastly different pixel densities than the primary device screen. Ensure your layouts and resources adapt correctly to these changes to maintain UI clarity and usability. Use density-independent pixels (dp) for layouts, provide density-specific resources, and ensure your UI scales appropriately.

Go beyond just the screen

• Correctly support external peripherals: When users connect to an external monitor, they often create a more desktop-like environment. This frequently involves using external keyboards, mice, trackpads, webcams, microphones, and speakers. If your app uses camera or microphone input, the app should be able to detect and utilize peripherals connected through the external display or a docking station.
• Handle keyboard actions: Desktop users rely heavily on keyboard shortcuts for efficiency. Implement standard shortcuts (for example, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z) and consider app-specific shortcuts that make sense in a windowed environment. Make sure your app supports keyboard navigation.
• Support mouse interactions: Beyond simple clicks, ensure your app responds correctly to mouse hover events (for example, for tooltips or visual feedback), right-clicks (for contextual menus), and precise scrolling. Consider implementing custom pointers to indicate different actions.

Getting started

Explore the connected displays and enhanced desktop windowing features in the latest Android Beta. Get Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 on a supported Pixel device (Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series) to start testing your app today. Then enable desktop experience features in the developer settings.

Support for connected displays in the Android Emulator is coming soon, so stay tuned for updates!

Dive into the updated documentation on multi-display support and window management to learn more about implementing these best practices.

Feedback

Your feedback is crucial as we continue to refine these experiences. Please share your thoughts and report any issues through our official feedback channels.

We’re committed to making Android a versatile platform that adapts to the many ways users want to interact with their apps and devices. The improvements to connected display support are another step in that direction, and we can’t wait to see the amazing experiences you’ll build!

Posted by Mozart Louis – Developer Relations Engineer

Today, Android is launching a few updates across the platform! This includes the start of Android 16’s rollout, with details for both developers and users, a Developer Preview for enhanced Android desktop experiences with connected displays, and updates for Android users across Google apps and more, plus the June Pixel Drop. We’re also recapping all the Google I/O updates for Android developers focused on building excellent, adaptive Android apps.

Google I/O 2025 brought exciting advancements to Android, equipping you with essential knowledge and powerful tools you need to build outstanding, user-friendly applications that stand out.

If you missed any of the key #GoogleIO25 updates and just saw the release of Android 16 or you’re ready to dive into building excellent adaptive apps, our playlist is for you. Learn how to craft engaging experiences with Live Updates in Android 16, capture video effortlessly with CameraX, process it efficiently using Media3’s editing tools, and engage users across diverse platforms like XR, Android for Cars, Android TV, and Desktop.

Check out the Google I/O playlist for all the session details.

Here are three key announcements directly influencing how you can craft deeply engaging experiences and truly connect with your users:

#1: Build adaptively to unlock 500 million devices

In today’s diverse device ecosystem, users expect their favorite applications to function seamlessly across various form factors, including phones, tablets, Chromebooks, automobiles, and emerging XR glasses and headsets. Our recommended approach for developing applications that excel on each of these surfaces is to create a single, adaptive application. This strategy avoids the need to rebuild the application for every screen size, shape, or input method, ensuring a consistent and high-quality user experience across all devices.

The talk emphasizes that you don’t need to rebuild apps for each form factor. Instead, small, iterative changes can unlock an app’s potential.

Here are some resources we encourage you to use in your apps:

New feature support in Jetpack Compose Adaptive Libraries

• We’re continuing to make it as easy as possible to build adaptively with Jetpack Compose Adaptive Libraries. with new features in 1.1 like pane expansion and predictive back. By utilizing canonical layout patterns such as List Detail or Supporting Pane layouts and integrating your app code, your application will automatically adjust and reflow when resized.

Navigation 3

• The alpha release of the Navigation 3 library now supports displaying multiple panes. This eliminates the need to alter your navigation destination setup for separate list and detail views. Instead, you can adjust the setup to concurrently render multiple destinations when sufficient screen space is available.

Updates to Window Manager Library

• AndroidX.window 1.5 introduces two new window size classes for expanded widths, facilitating better layout adaptation for large tablets and desktops. A width of 1600dp or more is now categorized as “extra large,” while widths between 1200dp and 1600dp are classified as “large.” These subdivisions offer more granularity for developers to optimize their applications for a wider range of window sizes.

Support all orientations and be resizable

• In Android 16 important changes are coming, affecting orientation, aspect ratio, and resizability. Apps targeting SDK 36 will need to support all orientations and be resizable.

Extend to Android XR

• We are making it easier for you to build for XR with the Android XR SDK in developer preview 2, which features new Material XR components, a fully integrated Emulator withinAndroid Studio and spatial videos support for your Play Store listings.

Upgrade your Wear OS apps to Material 3 Design

• Wear OS 6 features Material 3 Expressive, a new UI design with personalized visuals and motion for user creativity, coming to Wear, Android, and Google apps later this year. You can upgrade your app and Tiles to Material 3 Expressive by utilizing new Jetpack libraries: Wear Compose Material 3, which provides components for apps and Wear ProtoLayout Material 3 which provides components and layouts for tiles.

You should build a single, adaptive mobile app that brings the best experiences to all Android surfaces. By building adaptive apps, you meet users where they are today and in the future, enhancing user engagement and app discoverability. This approach represents a strategic business decision that optimizes an app’s long-term success.

#2: Enhance your app’s performance optimization

Get ready to take your app’s performance to the next level! Google I/O 2025, brought an inside look at cutting-edge tools and techniques to boost user satisfaction, enhance technical performance metrics, and drive those all-important key performance indicators. Imagine an end-to-end workflow that streamlines performance optimization.

Redesigned UiAutomator API

• To make benchmarking reliable and reproducible, there’s the brand new UiAutomator API. Write robust test code and run it on your local devices or in Firebase Test Lab, ensuring consistent results every time.

Macrobenchmarks

• Once your tests are in place, it’s time to measure and understand. Macrobenchmarks give you the hard data, while App Startup Insights provide actionable recommendations for improvement. Plus, you can get a quick snapshot of your app’s health with the App Performance Score via DAC. These tools combined give you a comprehensive view of your app’s performance and where to focus your efforts.

R8, More than code shrinking and obfuscation

• You might know R8 as a code shrinking tool, but it’s capable of so much more! The talk dives into R8’s capabilities using the “Androidify” sample app. You’ll see how to apply R8, troubleshoot any issues (like crashes!), and configure it for optimal performance. It’ll also be shown how library developers can include “consumer Keep rules” so that their important code is not touched when used in an application.

#3: Build Richer Image and Video Experiences

In today’s digital landscape, users increasingly expect seamless content creation capabilities within their apps. To meet this demand, developers require robust tools for building excellent camera and media experiences.

Media3Effects in CameraX Preview

• At Google I/O, developers delve into practical strategies for capturing high-quality video using CameraX, while simultaneously leveraging the Media3Effects on the preview.

Google Low-Light Boost

• Google Low Light Boost in Google Play services enables real-time dynamic camera brightness adjustment in low light, even without device support for Low Light Boost AE Mode.

New Camera & Media Samples!

• For Google I/O 2025, The Camera & Media team created new samples and demos for building excellent media and camera experiences on Android. It emphasizes future-proofing apps using Jetpack libraries like Media3 Transformer for advanced video editing and Compose for adaptive UIs, including XR. Get more information about incrementally adding premium features with CameraX, utilizing Media3 for AI-powered functionalities such as video summarization and HDR thumbnails, and employing specialized APIs like Oboe for efficient audio playback. We have also updated CameraX samples to fully use Compose instead of the View based system.

Learn more about how CameraX & Media3 can accelerate your development of camera and media related features.

Learn how to build adaptive apps

Want to learn more about building excellent, adaptive apps? Watch this playlist to learn more about all the session details.