Posted by Fahd Imtiaz – Product Manager, Android Developer

We’re excited to announce that Jetpack WindowManager 1.5.0 is now stable!

This release builds on the strong foundation of adaptability in WindowManager, making it even easier to create polished, adaptive UIs that look great on all screen sizes. As the Android ecosystem continues to grow, users are engaging with apps on a wider variety of devices than ever before: from phones and foldables to tablets, connected displays, Chromebooks, and even car displays in parked mode.

WindowManager 1.5 focuses on providing better tools for this diverse device environment.

What’s new in WindowManager 1.5

This stable release introduces new breakpoints for very large screens, enhances the activity embedding API, and provides more flexibility for calculating window metrics.

New window size classes: Large and Extra-large

The biggest update in 1.5 is the addition of two new width window size classes: Large and Extra-large.

Window size classes are our official, opinionated set of viewport breakpoints that help you design and develop adaptive layouts. With 1.5, we’re extending this guidance for screens that go beyond typical tablets.

Here are the new width breakpoints:

• Large: For widths between 1200dp and 1600dp

• Extra-large: For widths ≥1600dp

The different window size classes based on display width. 

Why are these important?

Starting with Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2, Android supports connected displays, enabling users to attach an external display to their device and transform it into a desktop-like tool with a large screen.

Phone connected to an external display, with a desktop session on the external display. 

With this new feature available, opinionated guidance to include bigger displays is crucial. 

On these very large surfaces, simply scaling up a tablet’s Expanded
layout isn’t always the best user experience. An email client, for example, might comfortably show two panes (a mailbox and a message) in the Expanded window size class. But on an Extra-large desktop monitor, the email client could elegantly display three or even four panes—perhaps a mailbox, a message list, the full message content, and a calendar/tasks panel, all at once.

By providing official breakpoints for very large display sizes, WindowManager 1.5 gives you a clear signal to
introduce layouts specifically designed for a productive, information-dense desktop experience.

The window size classes can be calculated using computeWindowSizeClass(), which is an androidx.window.core.layout library extension function that extends the Set<WindowSizeClass> type. 

To include the new window size classes in your project, simply call the function from the WindowSizeClass.BREAKPOINTS_V2 set instead of WindowSizeClass.BREAKPOINTS_V1:

Then apply the correct layout when you’re sure your app has at least that much space:

Adaptive libraries

The Compose Material 3 Adaptive library helps you create adaptive UIs that adapt themselves automatically according to the current window configurations like window size classes or device postures. 

The good news is that the library is already up to date with the new breakpoints! Starting from version
1.2 (now in Release Candidate stage), the default pane scaffold directive functions support Large and Extra-large window width size classes.

You only need to opt-in by declaring in your Gradle build file that you want to use the new breakpoints:

Additional improvements

• Activity embedding — auto-save and restore: WindowManager can now automatically save and restore the state of your activity embedding splits. This helps preserve the user’s layout across process recreation, leading to a more stable and consistent experience. Developers don’t have to save and restore the state manually anymore, but they can simply opt-in auto by setting the EmbeddingConfiguration#isAutoSaveEmbeddingState property.

• Expanded WindowMetrics:
  You can now calculate WindowMetrics
  from an Application
  context, not just an Activity
  context.
  This provides more flexibility for accessing window information from different parts of your app.

How to get started

To start using the new Large and Extra-large size classes and other 1.5 features in your Android projects, update your app dependencies in build.gradle.kts to the latest stable version:

WindowManager 1.5 is another step forward for creating fully adaptive apps that run across Android form factors. Check out the official release notes for a complete list of changes and bug fixes.

Happy coding!

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 Sa-ryong Kang and Miguel Montemayor – Developer Relations Engineers

Peacock is NBCUniversal’s streaming service app available in the US, offering culture-defining entertainment including live sports, exclusive original content, TV shows, and blockbuster movies. The app continues to evolve, becoming more than just a platform to watch content, but a hub of entertainment.

Today’s users are consuming entertainment on an increasingly wider array of device sizes and types, and in particular are moving towards mobile devices. Peacock has adopted Jetpack Compose to help with its journey in adapting to more screens and meeting users where they are.

Disclaimer: Peacock is available in the US only. This video will only be viewable to US viewers.

Adapting to more flexible form factors

The Peacock development team is focused on bringing the best experience to users, no matter what device they’re using or when they want to consume content. With an emerging trend from app users to watch more on mobile devices and large screens like foldables, the Peacock app needs to be able to adapt to different screen sizes. As more devices are introduced, the team needed to explore new solutions that make the most out of each unique display permutation.

The goal was to have the Peacock app to adapt to these new displays while continually offering high-quality entertainment without interruptions, like the stream reloading or visual errors. While thinking ahead, they also wanted to prepare and build a solution that was ready for Android XR as the entertainment landscape is shifting towards including more immersive experiences.

Building a future-proof experience with Jetpack Compose

In order to build a scalable solution that would help the Peacock app continue to evolve, the app was migrated to Jetpack Compose, Android’s toolkit for building scalable UI. One of the essential tools they used was the WindowSizeClass API, which helps developers create and test UI layouts for different size ranges. This API then allows the app to seamlessly switch between pre-set layouts as it reaches established viewport breakpoints for different window sizes.

The API was used in conjunction with Kotlin Coroutines and Flows to keep the UI state responsive as the window size changed. To test their work and fine tune edge case devices, Peacock used the Android Studio emulator to simulate a wide range of Android-based devices.

Jetpack Compose allowed the team to build adaptively, so now the Peacock app responds to a wide variety of screens while offering a seamless experience to Android users. “The app feels more native, more fluid, and more intuitive across all form factors,” said Diego Valente, Head of Mobile, Peacock and Global Streaming. “That means users can start watching on a smaller screen and continue instantly on a larger one when they unfold the device—no reloads, no friction. It just works.”

Preparing for immersive entertainment experiences

In building adaptive apps on Android, John Jelley, Senior Vice President, Product & UX, Peacock and Global Streaming, says Peacock has also laid the groundwork to quickly adapt to the Android XR platform: “Android XR builds on the same large screen principles, our investment here naturally extends to those emerging experiences with less developmental work.”

The team is excited about the prospect of features unlocked by Android XR, like Multiview for sports and TV, which enables users to watch multiple games or camera angles at once. By tailoring spatial windows to the user’s environment, the app could offer new ways for users to interact with contextual metadata like sports stats or actor information—all without ever interrupting their experience.

Build adaptive apps

Learn how to unlock your app’s full potential on phones, tablets, foldables, and beyond.

Explore this announcement and all Google I/O 2025 updates on io.google starting May 22.