May was a big one for Android developers. Not only did we see the release of the Android 11 Beta, but we also got Android Studio 4, complete with an exciting new “motion editor!� Over the following month, we were been busy catching up and covering those new features to help devs get to grips with the change.
June has been slightly quieter, but not without intrigue! Google has released a new standalone ML Kit SDK for example. At Android Authority, we’ve also been busy creating a number of brand new beginner tutorials for those looking to supplement their development skills. We have in-depth tutorials for Python, for Unity, for Kotlin, and more.
You’ll find everything down below, as always!
Features and news from Android Authority
News
Getting started with the Motion Editor in Android Studio 4.0 – The new Motion Editor is an excellent feature for Android Studio that makes it much easier to create animated displays. It has some limitations, but the potential is here to save devs a ton of time. Learn the ropes here.
How to make sure your app is ready for Android 11: Android 11 Beta for devs – With the Beta now released, devs have a more concrete ideas as to what the next version of Android is going to look like. This post shares all of the most important changes that could affect your app creations.
Beginner tutorials
Java tutorial for beginners: Write a simple app with no previous experience – This post is an introduction to Java for those with no prior experience. Java is still a great choice for Android development, and this post will give you the basics you need to know.
What is Python and how do you get started? – This post is an introduction to Python. Python is a great choice for those looking to begin coding, or to expand their skillset. The examples can be tested with Android IDEs too, so you can learn right on your phone or tablet!
How to call a function in Python – This follows on from the previous post, exploring function calls.
A guide to Android app development for complete beginners in 5 easy steps – Our latest and greatest introductory guide to Android development for complete beginners.
An introduction to Kotlin for Android development – Kotlin is the preferred language for Android development according to Google. So if you aren’t already familiar with it, now is a good time to get to grips!
Android development for beginners – how to set up your first app project – Another introductory post, this time explaining how set up Android Studio and prepare your first new project.
The beginner’s guide to Android game development: Everything you need to know – This is another new guide, this time focussing on game development specifically and explaining your options.
How to make a game in Unity: it starts with a simple 3D maze game – A tutorial demonstrating how to get started with the most
The best Android developer tools for getting started – IDEs, app builders, game engines, and more!
Making an app with no programming experience: What are your options? – If you want to make an app but don’t know how to code/don’t want to learn, there are plenty of options here to get you started!
News and features from Android Developer’s blog
Performance insights for Games, powered by Android Performance Tuner – Android Performance Tuner is a new library that is now included as part of the Android Game SDK. This gives devs access to game performance insights from Android Vitals, allowing you to measure and optimize framerate and graphical fidelity.
Meet Google Play Billing Library Version 3 – Billing Library version 3 adds new options for billing, promoting subscriptions, and more. From August 2, 2021, all new apps will be required to use Billing Library 3+. By November 1, 2021, all existing apps need to have made the jump. Learn more about how to use it here.
New features to acquire and retain subscribers – Subscription models are increasingly popular among developers as a means to monetize apps. This post explores new features that were introduced with the Android 11 Beta, such as promotional codes. These features are built on top of the new Play Billing Library version 3.
On-device machine learning solutions with ML Kit, now even easier to use – Google is pushing machine learning hard right now and, to that end, has unveiled a new standalone ML Kit SDK, which will revolve entirely around on-device solutions. It should now be easier than ever to recognize text, scan barcodes, and classify objects via computer vision. This largely represents a shift away from heavy Firebase integration. No Firebase project is needed to support these features, though there is still the option to use the old method.
From last month:
Android Studio 4.0 – Despite the world coming to a crawl, Google is still hard at work and has just rolled out the latest stable update to Android Studio. 4.0 includes a “Motion Editor,� build speed window, live layout inspector, layout multi preview, Kotlin DSL script files, and smart editor for R8 rules. The motion editor is the most interesting feature here and will make it much easier to create and preview animations. Hopefully, this will result in prettier apps for all! There are many more new features too, so check out the full post.
Android 11: Beta Plans – In some less cheerful news from the blog, Google also announced that it would be postponing the Android 11 beta and its June 3rd event.
News and features from around the web
Unity 2019 LTS is now available – Unity 2019 LTS was released on June 9, including all the new features found in 2019.3, alongside stability improvements. Going forward, the LTS version will now be offered as the default. The LTS stream stands for “Long Term Support� and is intended for devs intending to release within a year, and comes with two years of support. From now on, Unity will offer two TECH stream releases per year, with an annual LTS version following annually.
Learn Premium is now available to everyone at no cost – The series of tutorials known as Unity Learn Premium is now available to everyone, free of charge (for three months only). This a fantastic opportunity for those that want to learn everything from the basics of code, to advanced 3D modelling. You can pick and choose the classes that interest you, and generally receive a high-quality education completely free.
Getting started with the motion editor in Android Studio 4.0 – Another guide to the exciting new Motion Editor in Android Studio 4.0.
Google releases Android Studio 4.0, with a new Motion Editor, Build Analyzer, and more – XDA-developers breaks down the latest features in Android Studio.
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