Xposed Framework for Nougat is finally here

Earlier this year we reported that the developer of Xposed Framework was working on getting his framework fully functional with Android 7.0 and 7.1 but that it would take a while. Now, nine months later it is good to go.

The Xposed Framework, if you are new to Android, is a framework that the user, with root access, can install onto their device that allows calls and functions of apps to be intercepted and replaced with a different “answer”. This is a very basic explanation and for a more detailed explanation we encourage anyone interested to read an earlier piece from Ausdroid where we explained in detail how it functions. In a nutshell it changes the way your device reacts, runs, and/or looks with any, some, or all apps and it does so while running the stable, stock ROM that the original manufacturer built for your device.

The Xposed Framework for Nougat has been a long time coming as Nougat brought changes to the way that Android handled apk files using the JIT compiler. Xposed Framework need to change a lot of things to be able to intercept calls to the JIT compiler.

The changes made keeps all of the ART optimisations that Google introduced with Android 7.0 and recompiles a method’s caller using JIT and still having the method hooks present. IF you are interested in the fine detail of how Rovo89 managed to get Xposed working with Nougat (with the help of XDA developer Wanam) head on over to XDA and read the nitty gritty details.

If you just want to finally install it on your Nougat toting Android device head on over to the XDA Xposed page and grab the correct download links. You will need SDK24 for Nougat 7.0 and SDK25 for Nougat 7.1. For discussion and questions head to the Xposed discussion thread for Nougat.

The Xposed Framework is open sourced so feel free to contribute to it if you can. In the meantime we now wait for it to arrive for Oreo. Rovo89 did provide a statement to XDA Developers regarding his progress with Xposed for Oreo:

I have already started work on Android 8.0. There are a few new language features that I’ll have to look at, but the general concept should still work. That includes all the work on invalidating compiled code of any callers when a method is hooked, which took by far the most time when I worked on Nougat. So I’m really confident that I’ll be much faster this time. Android 8.1 shouldn’t be much different, so I expect not much additional work for it.

That is great news. The heavy lifting on the new apk handling and JIT in Android has been done so hopefully we see Xposed for Oreo soon.

If you have never tried Xposed Framework before and feel like you need some more features on your Android phone, and still want a stock ROM I urge you to check out the Xposed Framework.