With a host of new updates and platforms entering the market in summer and fall of 2022, developers and testers will encounter new protocols and requirements when it comes to creating and maintaining Android apps, from updated security and data collection procedures to enhanced storage and support capabilities.
Let us take a closer look at these upcoming Android trends affecting dev teams, testers, and Android users alike.
Android Trend #1: The Highly Anticipated Android 13 Update
Many are abuzz about the latest and greatest in Android trends: the Android 13 update, scheduled to be released in August or early September 2022. Here is what to expect:
Updated Privacy and Accessibility
User privacy and security remain the most prominent of Android trends this year, and the Android 13 update is no exception. In addition to addressing privacy concerns, Android 13 offers several important accessibility updates, including:
- UI changes, such as themed app icons and customization of home page design for users.
- Multilingual support in which users can specify a default language by app, which will include improved support for Japanese and other non-Latin languages. Dev teams must add these options within the application manifest file, and testing will be extremely important to ensure success.
- Accessibility requirements across smartphones and tablets will result in fines if missing, emphasizing the importance of testing to ensure compliance.
Android Trend #2: Google’s Updated Privacy Policy
Last year, Google released its updated privacy policy which is transforming the app deployment model with the goal of offering increased privacy and security for end users. With this robust update, dev teams and testers must adhere to stricter privacy constraints and justify their reasoning for collecting protected or sensitive user data.
Some key highlights of the updated policy include:
- Limits access to and collection of personal and sensitive user data in Android apps, one of the major Android trends affecting app developers and testers this season. The policy also revamps procedures for SDKs.
- Developers must implement runtime permissions requests prior to accessing data, based on specifications from Android permissions.
- If your app requires you to access restricted data or perform restricted actions, developers must determine if they can do so without declaring permissions, per the above Android permissions policy; if not, developers must declare permissions.
Android Trend #3: Android Application Bundles Transfer APKs to Google Play
Developers and testers are no longer required to manage APKs across devices, and users can enjoy faster download times and enhanced privacy – one of the key Android trends of 2022. While Google is making significant advancements to the way dev teams release and test their apps, Android Application Bundles are also changing the landscape for Android app deployment and testing. Since August 2021, developers have been required to publish with the Android App Bundle on Google Play, which optimizes APKs across Android devices.
The result is that dev teams will only have access to code needed for a specific device to deploy and test an app, rather than having access to all user data at once.
Android 13 and Pixel 6A Compatibility
Announced in May 2022, the Pixel 6A was officially released in July 2022 and will fully support the Android 13 update – in fact, Pixel 6A is among the first Android devices to receive this update. Coinciding with the latest in Android trends, the Pixel 6A features enhanced security and includes some of the best components of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro at a lower price point. Additional features include:
- Improved camera settings, most notably the Magic Eraser tool which allows users to remove distracting background objects.
- Enhanced voice recognition.
- Google Tensor hardware and software, including security features from the Titan M2 microchip.
- All-day battery life.
- 5 years of security updates and feature drops.
Android Trend #4: Flutter 3.0 Aligns with Android Trends of 2022
Released in July 2022, Flutter 3.0 offers a host of enhanced features, including new support capabilities, greater control for dev teams over app initialization, optimized user experiences, and tooling updates, all of which align with the Android trends of summer and fall 2022. Flutter 3.0 will also offer foldable device capabilities with new features and widgets, international text input to support non-Latin languages like Chinese, Japanese and Korean, and enhanced accessibility features across all desktop platforms with both mobile and web application support.
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With the volume of updates entering the Android sphere this summer and fall, it is especially important for dev teams and testers to ensure they comply with the new policies. With Perfecto, dev teams and testers can release high-quality Android apps with ease while keeping up with the latest in Android trends. Learn more about our platform by signing up for a free trial today.