Letsgood Blog Android L Preview

What does the new API mean for developersThe preview of the next release for Android platform that was introduced at this year's Google I/O conference offers a lot of new features. Here is a brief summary of some major changes and new features that every Android developer should know about if he wants to raise target API to newest release.ARTExperimental Android runtime ART that was first introduced in 4.4 release is now replacing Dalvik as a system default. ART improves perfomance of the device with no action required by the developer thanks to features as Ahead­of­Time compilation (AOT), improved garbage collection and improved debugging support.However, you might experience some problems if your app uses Java Native Interface to run C/C++ code or if you are using development tools that generate non­standart code.Material designThe most noticeable change in the release is definitely a new design language called "Material design". Now you can use the new material theme and two new widgets.RecyclerView is a more advanced and flexible version of ListView. This widget is capable of managing large sets of views with improved recycling efficiency.CardView is extension of FrameLayout that let you show information in consistent look.Both widgets are included in Android L Preview support library so you can use them (with some limitations) in earlier releases.RecyclerView and CardView (Source: developer.android.com)Extended is also support of animations because important part of the Material design are seamless transitions between view states and even between activities. Along to some additional default animations, the new API enables you to customize them or create new ones. You can now also use a "Z" property that defines elevation of view for customization of its shadow.NotificationsWith introduction of Material design Google has changed design of notifications. The new notifications layouts are based on white background with shadows.Notfications layouts (Source: developer.android.com)Notifications are in the release also displayed at the lock screen. For security purposes you should define visibility for your notifications. You can use three options including Private, Public or Secret parameter in order to prevent displaying of a sensitive information at the lock screen.Project VoltaAndroid L Preview contains new tools and API's for power consumption optimalization so you should make your app as effective as possible in term of battery usage.Battery historian tool creates HTML visualization of power­related events. This output can help you understand how is your app affecting battery life of a device.The new JobScheluder API can be used to schelude your background tasks to run asynchronously at a later time or under concrete condifions (for example when the device is charging) to minimalize batery impact.The Android L Preview comes with a lot more new features such as multi­networking, advanced camera capabilities or BLE peripheral mode so visit API Overview if you want to learn more. As said this is just the preview, so we can expect more improvemets in the final release that is pegged for 1 November.