Skip to main content

Android 3.2 official with better tablet support, SD card media sync; SDK released

Google has officially outed Android version 3.2 with better support for tablet devices, syncing with SD card media files, new APIs for developers and an SDK. Here are the user feature release notes:

  • Optimizations for a wider range of tabletsAndroid 3.2 includes a variety of optimizations across the system to ensure a great user experience on a wider range of tablet devices.
  • Compatibility zoom for fixed-sized appsAndroid 3.2 introduces a new compatibility zoom mode that gives users a new way to view fixed-sized apps on larger devices. The new mode provides a pixel-scaled alternative to the standard UI stretching for apps that are not designed to run on larger screen sizes, such as on tablets. The new mode is accessible to users from a menu icon in the system bar, for apps that need compatibility support.
  • Media sync from SD card
  • On devices that support an SD card, users can now load media files directly from the SD card to apps that use them. A system facility makes the files accessible to apps from the system media store.
New Developer features:
Extended API for managing screens support

  • Android 3.2 introduces extensions to the platform’s screen support API to give developers additional ways to manage application UI across the range of Android-powered devices. The API includes new resource qualifiers and new manifest attributes that give you more precise control over how your apps are displayed on different sizes, rather than relying on generalized size categories.
  • To ensure the best possible display for fixed-sized apps and apps with limited support for various screen sizes, the platform also provides a new zoom compatibility mode that renders the UI on a smaller screen area, then scales it up to fill the space available on the display. For more information about the screen support API and the controls it provides, see the sections below.

Developers can grab the new SDK here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel