We exclusively told you a few weeks ago that Google was planning to launch a partner program for agencies that build Android apps, and the company confirmed the existence of said program on the day of the Google I/O 2016 keynote. Now, Google has taken to its Developers blog to formally “announce” the program and spill some more details…
Android Studio 1.0
Google has today released Android Studio 1.4 in the stable update channel. As has been the case since the software was first released in beta just about a month ago, the update features new design tools such as vector assets, a theme editor, new project template features, new performance monitors, and more…
Some of the new design tools, as outlined at the Android Developers blog:
Vector Assets:
Starting with API 21, you can use Vector Drawables for image assets. For most apps, using VectorDrawables decreases the amount of density dependent drawables you need to maintain, and will also give you sharp image assets regardless of the screen device densities your app supports.
Theme Editor:
We understand that managing your app theme and style can be a bit complex. With Android Studio 1.4, we are releasing a preview of the Theme Editor to help with this task. This first version of the Theme Editor is focused on editing and updating the material theme colors (
colors.xml) in your app project.
Project Templates:
We know many of you use the New Project Wizard app templates to start a new app project or to quickly add an activity to an existing app. To help with the visual design of your apps, we updated the app templates to include the Android Design Support Library alongside the AppCompat Support library.
There are also two new monitors: You’ll find one for GPU rendering and another for networking, which can monitor both GPU rending performance and the network usage of your app, respectively. Finally, Google says that it’s making taking advantage of a Firebase mobile backend even easier with the latest version.
You can grab Android Studio at the Google Developer website, and if you already have it installed, you’ll find that version 1.4 should be available right now.
Autodesk, the company behind a variety of popular design tools, today has announced a new game engine that it says makes the process of building games considerably more seamless. The program, called Stingray, is based on the Bitsquid engine that it acquired last year, but is entirely revamped with a new, more intuitive interface.
Earlier today we shared our full review of the ASUS ZenFone 2 and noted that it was a great budget offering, although it comes with an excessive amount of bloatware installed. XDA users have now discovered, however, how to unlock the device’s bootloader.
RelativeWave, the company behind the mobile app prototyping software Form, today announced it’s joining Google. The company made an announcement on its website noting that it will continue working on the Form app and as of today make it available for free through the Mac App Store. The app previously sold for $79.
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Continuing its barrage of Android announcements today, Google this evening has announced that developers can now start submitting Android TV apps to the Play Store. This is to be expected as the Nexus Player starts to make its way into the hands of consumers. Google says that in addition to publishing apps exclusively for Android TV onto the Play Store, developers can also extend their existing apps for TV and publish them.
You might be familiar with Big Nerd Ranch from their iOS development programs detailed on 9to5Mac, but you might not know the guys and gals at the Nerd Ranch also run an Android Bootcamp. Well, your first introduction to the program could be this Thursday, December 15 when the instructors of the course will be holding an open Q&A with those interested in learning more about Android development.
To join the conversation, tune in on the Big Nerd Ranch Facebook wall or tweet questions with #BigDroidRanch. One participant will get a $750 credit to attend the Big Nerd Ranch in January when the next Android Bootcamp begins. You can start tweeting and posting your questions now and instructors will be live on Thursday at 3-5 p.m. ET to answer them. If you’re interested getting into Android development, swing by the their website to read more about the program.
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