By Jamal Eason, Product
Manager, Android
Android Studio 2.2 is available to download today.
Previewed at Google I/O 2016, Android Studio 2.2 is the latest release of our
IDE used by millions of Android developers around the world.
Packed with enhancements, this release has three major themes: speed, smarts,
and Android platform support. Develop faster with features such as the new
Layout Editor, which makes creating an app user interface quick and intuitive.
Develop smarter with our new APK analyzer, enhanced Layout Inspector, expanded
code analysis, IntelliJ’s 2016.1.3 features and much more. Lastly, as the
official IDE for Android app development, Android Studio 2.2 includes support
for all the latest developer features in Android 7.0 Nougat, like code
completion to help you add Android platform features like Multi-Window
support, Quick
Settings API, or the redesigned Notifications,
and of course, the built-in Android
Emulator to test them all out.
In this release, we evolved the Android Frameworks and the IDE together to
create the Constraint Layout. This powerful new layout manager helps you design
large and complex layouts in a flat and streamlined hierarchy. The
ConstraintLayout integrates into your app like a standard Android
support library, and was built in parallel with the new Layout Editor.
Android Studio 2.2 includes 20+ new features across every major phase of the
development process: design, develop, build, & test. From designing UIs with
the new ConstraintLayout, to developing C++ code with the Android
NDK, to building with the latest Jack compliers, to creating Espresso test cases
for your app, Android Studio 2.2 is the update you do not want to miss. Here’s
more detail on some of the top highlights:
Design
Layout Editor: Creating Android app user interfaces is now
easier with the new user interface designer. Quickly construct the structure of
your app UI with the new blueprint mode and adjust the visual attributes of each
widget with new properties panel. Learn
more.
Layout Editor
Constraint Layout: This new layout is a flexible layout
manager for your app that allows you to create dynamic user interfaces without
nesting multiple layouts. It is backwards compatible all the way back to Android
API level 9 (Gingerbread). ConstraintLayout works best with the new Layout
Editor in Android Studio 2.2. Learn
more.
ConstraintLayout
Develop
Improved C++ Support: You can now use CMake
or ndk-build to compile your C++ projects from Gradle. Migrating projects
from CMake build systems to Android Studio is now seamless. You will also find
C++ support in the new project wizard in Android Studio, plus a number of bug
fixes to the C++ edit and debug experience. Learn
more.
C++ Code Editing & CMake Support
Samples Browser: Referencing Android sample code
is now even easier with Android Studio 2.2. Within the code editor window, find
occurrences of your app code in Google Android sample code to help jump start
your app development.
Sample Code Menu
Build
Instant Run Improvements: Introduced in Android Studio 2.0,
Instant
Run is our major, long-term investment to make Android development as fast
and lightweight. Since launch, it has significantly improved the edit, build,
run iteration cycles for many developers. In this release, we have made many
stability and reliability improvements to Instant Run. If you have previously
disabled Instant Run, we encourage you to re-enable it and let us know if you
come across further issues. (Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Instant
Run [Windows/Linux] , Preferences → Build, Execution, Deployment → Instant Run
[OS X]). For details on the fixes that we have made, see the Android Studio
2.2 release notes.
Enable Instant Run
APK Analyzer: Easily inspect the contents of your APKs to
understand the size contribution of each component. This feature can be helpful
when debugging multi-dex
issues. Plus, with the APK Analyzer you can compare two versions of an APK. Learn
more.
APK Analyzer
Build cache (Experimental): We are continuing our
investments to improve build speeds with the introduction of a new experimental
build cache that will help reduce both full and incremental build times. Just
add android.enableBuildCache=true to your
gradle.properties file. Learn more.
Build Cache Setting
Test
Virtual Sensors in the Android Emulator: The Android
Emulator now includes a new set of virtual sensors controls. With the new UI
controls, you can now test Android
Sensors such as Accelerometer, Ambient Temperature, Magnetometer and more.
Learn
more.
Android Emulator Virtual Sensors
Espresso Test Recorder (Beta): The Espresso Test Recorder
lets you easily create UI tests by recording interactions with your app; it then
outputs the UI
test code for you. You record your interactions with a device and add
assertions to verify UI elements in particular snapshots of your app. Espresso
Test Recorder then takes the saved recording and automatically generates a
corresponding UI test. You can run the test locally, on your continuous
integration server, or using Firebase
Test Lab for Android. Learn
more.
Espresso Test Recorder
GPU Debugger (Beta): The GPU Debugger is now in Beta. You
can now capture a stream of OpenGL ES commands on your Android device and then
replay it from inside Android Studio for analysis. You can also fully inspect
the GPU state of any given OpenGL ES command to better understand and debug your
graphical output. Lean
more.
GPU Debugger
To recap, Android Studio 2.2 includes these major features and more:
Design
Layout
Editor
Constraint
Layout
Layout
Inspector (Experimental)
PSD
File Support in Vector Asset Studio
Develop
Firebase
Plugin
Updated Code
Analysis & Lint checks
Enhanced
accessibility support
Improved C++
Support Edit & Debugging
IntelliJ
2016.1.3 platform update
Samples Browser
Improved Font Rendering
Build
Jack
Compiler Improvements
Java 8
Language Support
C++
ndk-build or CMake
Merged
Manifest Viewer
Build cache
(Experimental)
OpenJDK Support
Instant Run Improvements
Test
Espresso
Test Recorder (Beta)
APK
Analyzer
GPU
Debugger (Beta)
Virtual
Sensors in the Android Emulator
Learn more about Android Studio 2.2 by reviewing the release notes
and the preview
blog post.
Getting Started
Download
If you are using a previous version of Android Studio, you can check for updates
on the Stable channel from the navigation menu (Help → Check for Update
[Windows/Linux] , Android Studio → Check for Updates [OS X]). You can also
download Android Studio 2.2 from the official download page. To
take advantage of all the new features and improvements in Android Studio, you
should also update to the Android Gradle plugin version to 2.2.0 in your current
app project.
Next Release
We would like to thank all of you in the Android Developer community for your
work on this release. We are grateful for your contributions, your ongoing
feedback which inspired the new features in this release, and your highly active
use on canary and beta builds filing bugs. We all wanted to make Android Studio
2.2 our best release yet, with many stability and performance fixes in addition
to the many new features. For our next release, look for even more; we want to
work hard to address feedback and keep driving up quality and stability on
existing features to make you productive.
We appreciate any feedback on things you like, issues or features you would like
to see. Connect with us -- the Android Studio development team -- on our Google+ page or on Twitter.
What's New in Android Studio 2.2