It’s all about the developers today, with Google announcing that version 1.3 of Android Studio, which was previewed at Google I/O has hit the stable channel for general release.
Android Studio 1.3 is Google’s biggest release yet in terms of features says Reto Meier, Head of Scalable Developer Advocacy at Google in the blog post announcing the update. There’s two main areas for focus in the release: Performance & Testing Tools and Code and SDK Management. Mr Meier has broken down the high points of each over on the Android developers blog:
Performance & Testing Tools
- Android Memory (HPROF) ViewerAndroid Studio now allows you to capture and analyze memory snapshots in the native Android HPROF format.
- Allocation Tracker
In addition to displaying a table of memory allocations that your app uses, the updated allocation tracker now includes a visual way to view the your app allocations. - APK Tests in Modules
For more flexibility in app testing, you now have the option to place your code tests in a separate module and use the new test plugin (‘com.android.test’) instead of keeping your tests right next to your app code. This feature does require your app project to use the Gradle Plugin 1.3.
Code and SDK Management
- App permission annotations
Android Studio now has inline code annotation support to help you manage the new app permissions model in the M release of Android. Learn more about
code annotations. - Data Binding Support
New data brinding features allow you to create declarative layouts in order to minimize boilerplate code by binding your application logic into your layouts. Learn more about
data binding. - SDK Auto Update & SDK Manager
Managing Android SDK updates is now a part of the Android Studio. By default, Android Studio will now prompt you about new SDK & Tool updates. You can still adjust your preferences with the new & integrated Android SDK Manager. - C++ Support
As a part of the Android 1.3 stable release, we included an Early Access Preview of the C++ editor & debugger support paired with an experimental build plugin. See the
Android C++ Preview page for information on how to get started. Support for more complex projects and build configurations is in development, but let us know your feedback.
The update is available for developers now, with current Android Studio users able to simply open the Navigation menu and check for updates. New users are encouraged to check out the Android Studio overview page, before heading to the Android Studio download page to get started.
