Google introduces “Awareness API” to respond according to your environment

Have you ever wondered if your smartphone can sense where you are? What you’re doing? Or what’s your nearby location? Thought of capturing an image, including the weather information and also combining your current situation together? At the recent Google I/O conference, Google has announced new tools for developers that can be customized to respond to the user’s current situation.

Google is introducing its Awareness API to make the smart features accessible. Think of you are jogging and your music application opens an energetic music playlist. Now let’s consider another scenario where you are driving nearby to any pharmacy and if it is open, then your system application will prompt an alert.

Functions like user location, user activity, and nearby locations are also performed by the API. Earlier, combining these functions using multiple API slow down the device speed. Also, smartphone suffers battery draining and slow processing issues. With the introduction of Google’s Awareness API, all functions will now be flawlessly accessible by combining API’s. Also, data can be interoperated between the Google devices and Android smart wearables.

This new Awareness API contains two API’s, first is Fence API which identifies the user’s current situation and second is Snapshot API that requests the information about the user’s current context.

Few instances shared by the Google are:

• Let’s say a weather application could easily sense Chrome cast plugged into your bedroom TV to display the current weather details on its screen.
• Suppose an alarm clock can wake you up the next morning based on your last sleep time and when will be your first meeting will be on that day.
• Even while jogging you forgot to put on your track application, then also the application automatically gets on.

For any app to succeed, it is important to define a smart business strategy, a professional UI/UX design and above all, an experienced android app development company to convert the idea into a working product!

Google launched a new release of Android Studio 2.2 Preview

Google launched its Android Studio 2.2 version with a bunch of improvements that are designed to enhance the application for development. According to Google, the new Android Studio version will have their emulators run faster on the device app. To make the developer experience easier is critical, however, Google provides faster build, test code and recording feature to run them locally or via. cloud test lab to enhance user experience.

A sneak peak of some of its new features:

• New Layout: A new layout design is loaded with more features that makes easier for the developer to enhance their app development feature. With the new user interface, the designers can easily move the widgets by simply drag and drop action to the design surface or component tree mode. Also, the user can identify the spacing in the layout, edit system preference files and edit menu with UI builder and quick widget using the properties panel.
• Constraint Layout: User can create dynamic user interfaces without nesting them in the multiple layouts. A constraint layout can be created using the built-in templates in the New Project Wizard. User may also create a Constraint layout by clicking on any layout in the new Layout Edition and then select Convert to Constraint Layout option.
• Layout Inspector: This new version captures the snapshot of the app that will help the user in identifying the bug. User can analyze each component of the UI by accessing the hierarchy of the app. The user can capture the current view hierarchy screenshot of your app for inspection, which is particularly useful when trying to track down a bug.
• Emulator Speed: Developers will experience their emulators working three times faster than the older version of Android Studio 2.1.
• Build Speed: Developer will benefit with an improved speed of the build in the new version.
• Automated Test Recording: A new feature to excite the developers is the new automated test recording feature. Developers will be able to record their action with a single click and start using the app. With each action performed, the app turns into the Expresso Code, which can be played on different platforms. This Test Recording feature reduces development time to the tenth of what it seemed to be in the earlier version.
• Firebase Plugin: Firebase plugin can be added to the new or existing Android app by using the Assistance Windows. The Firebase features can be accessed from the IDE. 
• Samples Browser: This menu options give the access to the sample codes. For this, user requires to highlight the Variables, Methods or Types in the code by right clicking and select Find Sample Code to get the results.
• APK Analyzer: It helps the user to reduce the size of the APK by analyzing the ProGuard configuration problems, view merged AndroidManifest.xml file, reduces the issues in Dex files by avoiding 64k referenced method and examine the compiled resource file.
• Support: Includes Android N support for developers.

The new version of Android Studio 2.2 is designed to improve the developers and users experience. Android devices are popular worldwide and used by millions of people. Learn more about Android App Development Services.

Google launched Android Studio 2.1 to support Android N development

Google has recently launched the latest version, Android Studio 2.1 integrated development environment (IDE). It offers support to build applications for its Android N Developer Preview versions for faster Instant Run and Preview. Earlier, in this year, Google has launched its first Android N Developer Preview followed by another Preview.

The Android Studio 2.1 version is supported by Linux, Mac and Windows. It can be downloaded from Android.com/SDK. The existing users of Android Studio can find this new version in their navigation menu:

Visit Check for Update [Windows/Linux] under Help Menu and Check for Check for Updates on [OS X] under Android Studio.

The developers can now use the Preview SDK latest versions to work on Java, try new Jack Complier and use their hands on the official Android Emulator which also runs N Developer Preview Emulator System Images. Due to the availability of the new Jack compiler, developers can perform operations like compile-time type annotations, lambdas, intersection types, method references on all new versions of Android platform. The Android N version features only repeatable annotations and static methods.

Any change running on an emulator or your device can be easily notified by the Instant Run which streamlines the workflow. Using this, the user can easily identify the changes running “in a near instant”. This will enable the developer to code continuously and run the app. When the Instant Run is used, then it will analyze the changes and identify how a new code can be deployed in the quickest way. Instant Run is compatible with any Android device or an emulator running API 14 or higher version.

With the incremental Java compilation, Instant Run can quickly update incremental changes. Meaning that, a change in a single line of code does not require all Java sources of that module to be recompiled. Also, class files will not be converted to dex files to create dex processes separately. For this feature, user requires increasing Gradle daemon from 1GB to minimum 2GB.

After the launch of Android Studio 2, most of you must be looking for developing android apps using the latest version. For that, TatvaSoft, a CMMi ML 3 Software Development Company, offers Android Apps Development services following its state-of-the-art culture in one of the fastest growing platforms. The team of expert android developers has access to all latest tools to develop, test and deploy the apps to serve with the best results.