Google has presented the second test version of the open mobile platform Android 15. The release of Android 15 is expected in the third quarter of 2024. To evaluate the new capabilities of the platform, a preliminary testing program is proposed. Firmware builds have been prepared for Pixel 6/6a/6 Pro, Pixel 7/7a/7 Pro, Pixel 8/8a/8 Pro, Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices.
Changes in Android 15 Developer Preview 2 since the first preview:
- For applications, it is possible to use small auxiliary screens (Cover screen), which are equipped with some folding smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. For example, the secondary screen lets you quickly take a call, reply to a message, control the camera, and more without opening the device.
- The TextView widget has the elegantTextHeight attribute enabled by default, which will replace a compact font with fonts with larger vertical indents that improve text readability.
- The capabilities of working via satellite communication channels have been expanded. New interface elements have been added to unify the use of satellite communications. Applications are given the ability to determine satellite channel usage using the ServiceState.isUsingNonTerrestrialNetwork() method. The interface for working with SMS/MMS supports sending and receiving messages via satellite channels.
- Work has been done to simplify the use of an NFC-enabled phone to pay for goods with one touch (tap to pay). Applications are given the ability to put the NFC adapter into surveillance mode, in which the device accepts NFC requests and sends them to a specified process for processing, but does not respond or transmit data to NFC readers.
- The capabilities for rendering PDF documents (API PdfRenderer) have been significantly expanded. For example, tools are provided for rendering password-protected files, displaying annotations, editing forms, searching within a document, and highlighting areas for copying via the clipboard. Added optimizations to reduce resource consumption and speed up viewing of local PDF files. The implementation of the PdfRenderer API is placed in a separate module, updated via Google Play and not tied to the main platform.
- Improved capabilities for automatic language recognition and language switching. Applications are provided with advanced options to fine-tune language switching during speech recognition. For example, the EXTRA_LANGUAGE_SWITCH_INITIAL_ACTIVE_DURATION_TIME_MILLIS mode allows switching only at the beginning of an audio session, and the EXTRA_LANGUAGE_SWITCH_MATCH_SWITCHES mode cancels language switching after a certain number of switches, which can be useful in situations where it is known in advance that only one language will be used in one session.
- Provides tools for flexible control of line breaks. In a TextView widget to improve readability using tags And You can control the wrapping of groups of words or parts of words to another line. For example, in the line βThe power and brains behind Pixel 8 Pro. "The phrase "Pixel 8 Pro" will always appear in one line.
- The possibilities for filtering intent requests have been expanded. Using the UriRelativeFilterGroup class, you can define rules to block or allow requests based on the content of URL parameters and URL fragments. Filtering rules can also be specified via a new tag in the application manifest.
- Expanded support for the OpenJDK API. For example, support has been added for additional methods of the Math and StrictMath classes, ordered collections and lists, using ByteBuffer in Deflater, and updating keys.
- Added an API to allow applications to detect when a screen recording is in progress. An application can specify a callback handler that will be called if screen recording is enabled and the application window enters the visible area. The proposed feature allows you to show recording warnings to the user if sensitive data is displayed.
- Added the ApplicationStartInfo API, through which you can get information about the status when starting a program. For example, you can find out whether application components are cached (cold, warm or hot states), how long different stages of startup took to complete, what caused the startup, and identify metrics useful for optimizing startup speed.
- Changed handling of stopped state, in which application execution is suspended until the user action associated with the application. The new version provides options for the application to determine whether suspend is terminated by processing the BOOT_COMPLETED message or using the ApplicationStartInfo.wasForceStopped() method.
- In addition to the StorageStats.getAppBytes() method, which allows you to obtain general information about the size of the installed application, the StorageStats.getAppBytesByDataType() method has been added, which makes it possible to obtain separate information about the size of the APK package, the copied code, extracted and generated data.
- Changes have been made to the API for launching priority services (Foreground Service). A new type of priority services has been added - mediaProcessing, which can be used for resource-intensive operations with multimedia content, for example, transcoding from one format to another.
- A new API has been proposed for working with the storage engine based on the SQLite DBMS, providing access to advanced SQLite capabilities.
- It is possible to control the brightness margin for HDR (the ratio of the brightest white color in an HDR image to the brightness of white in a standard dynamic range image). To set the brightness margin, the setDesiredHdrHeadroom method has been added, with which you can balance the brightness when displaying content in SDR and HDR.
- Added support for the CTA-2075 standard, which defines capabilities for loudness normalization to avoid changing the volume level for different content. Loudness matching is achieved by defining metadata about the characteristics of the speakers and the loudness of the AAC audio content. To normalize the volume, the LoudnessCodecController object and the OnLoudnessCodecUpdateListener method are proposed, which adjusts the volume parameters before accessing the codec.
- AndroidX media3 ExoPlayer 1.0 enables the use of spatial audio for multi-channel audio by default if spatial audio is supported on the device. The Virtualizer class has been deprecated in favor of the Spatializer class to define spatial audio behavior and capabilities.
- Added the AutomaticZenRules class to allow apps to configure do not disturb rules and define situations when those rules should be applied.
Source: opennet.ru