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  • Health Connect Jetpack SDK is now in beta and new feature updates



    Posted by Brenda Shaw – Health & Home Partner Engineering Technical Writer

    At Google, we are committed to empowering developers as they build exceptional health and fitness experiences. Core to that commitment is Health Connect, an Android platform that allows health and fitness apps to store and share the same on-device data. Android devices running Android 14 or that have the pre-installed APK will automatically have Health Connect by default in Settings. For pre-Android 14 devices, Health Connect is available for download from the Play Store.

    We’re excited to announce significant Health Connect updates like the Jetpack SDK Beta, new datatypes and new permissions that will enable richer, more insightful app functionalities.

    Jetpack SDK is now in Beta

    We are excited to announce the beta release of our Jetback SDK! Since its initial release, we’ve dedicated significant effort to improving data completeness, with a particular focus on enriching the metadata associated with each data point.

    In the latest SDK, we’re introducing two key changes designed to ensure richer metadata and unlock new possibilities for you and your users:

    Make Recording Method Mandatory

    To deliver more accurate and insightful data, the Beta introduces a requirement to specify one of four recording methods when writing data to Health Connect. This ensures increased data clarity, enhanced data analysis and improved user experience:

    If your app currently does not set metadata when creating a record:

    Before

    StepsRecord(
    count = 888,
    startTime = START_TIME,
    endTime = END_TIME,
) // error: metadata is not provided

    After

    StepsRecord(
    count = 888,
    startTime = START_TIME,
    endTime = END_TIME,
    metadata = Metadata.manualEntry()
)

    If your app currently calls Metadata constructor when creating a record:

    Before

    StepsRecord(
    count = 888,
    startTime = START_TIME,
    endTime = END_TIME,
    metadata =
        Metadata(
            clientRecordId = "client id",
            recordingMethod = RECORDING_METHOD_MANUAL_ENTRY,
        ), // error: Metadata constructor not found
)

    After

    StepsRecord(
    count = 888,
    startTime = START_TIME,
    endTime = END_TIME,
    metadata = Metadata.manualEntry(clientRecordId = "client id"),
)

    Make Device Type Mandatory

    You will be required to specify device type when creating a Device object. A device object will be required for Automatically (RECORDING_METHOD_AUTOMATICALLY_RECORDED) or Actively (RECORDING_METHOD_ACTIVELY_RECORDED) recorded data.

    Before

    Device() // error: type not provided

    After

    Device(type = Device.Companion.TYPE_PHONE)

    We believe these updates will significantly improve the quality of data within your applications and empower you to create more insightful user experiences. We encourage you to explore the Jetpack SDK Beta and review the updated Metadata page and familiarize yourself with these changes.

    New background reads permission

    To enable richer, background-driven health and fitness experiences while maintaining user trust, Health Connect now features a dedicated background reads permission.

    This permission allows your app to access Health Connect data while running in the background, provided the user grants explicit consent. Users retain full control, with the ability to manage or revoke this permission at any time via Health Connect settings.

    Let your app read health data even in the background with the new Background Reads permission. Declare the following permission in your manifest file:

    <application>
  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.health.READ_HEALTH_DATA_IN_BACKGROUND" />
...
</application>

    Use the Feature Availability API to check if the user has the background read feature available, according to the version of Health Connect they have on their devices.

    Allow your app to read historic data

    By default, when granted read permission, your app can access historical data from other apps for the preceding 30 days from the initial permission grant. To enable access to data beyond this 30-day window, Health Connect introduces the PERMISSION_READ_HEALTH_DATA_HISTORY permission. This allows your app to provide new users with a comprehensive overview of their health and wellness history.

    Users are in control of their data with both background reads and history reads. Both capabilities require developers to declare the respective permissions, and users must grant the permission before developers can access their data. Even after granting permission, users have the option of revoking access at any time from Health Connect settings.

    Additional data access and types

    Health Connect now offers expanded data types, enabling developers to build richer user experiences and provide deeper insights. Check out the following new data types:

      • Exercise Routes allows users to share exercise routes with other apps for a seamless synchronized workout. By allowing users to share all routes or one route, their associated exercise activities and maps for their workouts will be synced with the fitness apps of their choice.

    Fitness app asking permission to access exercise route in Health Connect

      • The skin temperature data type measures peripheral body temperature unlocking insights around sleep quality, reproductive health, and the potential onset of illness.
      • Health Connect also provides a planned exercise data type to enable training apps to write training plans and workout apps to read training plans. Recorded exercises (workouts) can be read back for personalized performance analysis to help users achieve their training goals. Access granular workout data, including sessions, blocks, and steps, for comprehensive performance analysis and personalized feedback.

    These new data types empower developers to create more connected and insightful health and fitness applications, providing users with a holistic view of their well-being.

    To learn more about all new APIs and bug fixes, check out the full release notes.

    Get started with the Health Connect Jetpack SDK

    Whether you are just getting started with Health Connect or are looking to implement the latest features, there are many ways to learn more and have your voice heard.

      • Subscribe to our newsletter: Stay up-to-date with the latest news, announcements, and resources from Google Health and Fitness. Subscribe to our Health and Fitness Google Developer Newsletter and get the latest updates delivered straight to your inbox.
      • Check out our Health Connect developer guide: The Health and Fitness Developer Center is your one-stop-shop for building health and fitness apps on Android – including a robust guide for getting started with Health Connect.
      • Report an issue: Encountered a bug or technical issue? Report it directly to our team through the Issue Tracker so we can investigate and resolve it. You can also request a feature or provide feedback with Issue Tracker.

    We can’t wait to see what you create!



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  • The Third Beta of Android 16



    Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Management, Android Developer

    Android 16 has officially reached Platform Stability today with Beta 3! That means the API surface is locked, the app-facing behaviors are final, and you can push your Android 16-targeted apps to the Play store right now. Read on for coverage of new security and accessibility features in Beta 3.

    Android delivers enhancements and new features year-round, and your feedback on the Android beta program plays a key role in helping Android continuously improve. The Android 16 developer site has more information about the beta, including how to get it onto devices and the release timeline. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think, and thank you in advance for your continued help in making Android a platform that benefits everyone.

    New in Android 16 Beta 3

    At this late stage in the development cycle, there are only a few new things in the Android 16 Beta 3 release for you to consider when developing your apps.

    Android 16 timeline showing we are on time with Beta releases ending in March

    Broadcast audio support

    Pixel 9 devices on Android 16 Beta now support Auracast broadcast audio with compatible LE Audio hearing aids, part of Android’s work to enhance audio accessibility. Built on the LE Audio standard, Auracast enables compatible hearing aids and earbuds to receive direct audio streams from public venues like airports, concerts, and classrooms. Our Keyword post has more on this technology.

    Outline text for maximum text contrast

    Users with low vision often have reduced contrast sensitivity, making it challenging to distinguish objects from their backgrounds. To help these users, Android 16 Beta 3 introduces outline text, replacing high contrast text, which draws a larger contrasting area around text to greatly improve legibility.

    Android 16 also contains new AccessibilityManager APIs to allow your apps to check or register a listener to see if this mode is enabled. This is primarily for UI Toolkits like Compose to offer a similar visual experience. If you maintain a UI Toolkit library or your app performs custom text rendering that bypasses the android.text.Layout class then you can use this to know when outline text is enabled.

    Text with enhanced contrast before and after Android 16's new outline text accessibility feature

    Text with enhanced contrast before and after Android 16’s new outline text accessibility feature

    Test your app with Local Network Protection

    Android 16 Beta 3 adds the ability to test the Local Network Protection (LNP) feature which is planned for a future Android major release. It gives users more control over which apps can access devices on their local network.

    What’s Changing?

    Currently, any app with the INTERNET permission can communicate with devices on the user’s local network. LNP will eventually require apps to request a specific permission to access the local network.

    Beta 3: Opt-In and Test

    In Beta 3, LNP is an opt-in feature. This is your chance to test your app and identify any parts that rely on local network access. Use this adb command to enable LNP restrictions for your app:

    adb shell am compat enable RESTRICT_LOCAL_NETWORK <your_package_name>

    After rebooting your device, your app’s local network access is restricted. Test features that might interact with local devices (e.g., device discovery, media casting, connecting to IoT devices). Expect to see socket errors like EPERM or ECONNABORTED if your app tries to access the local network without the necessary permission. See the developer guide for more information, including how to re-enable local network access.

    This is a significant change, and we’re committed to working with you to ensure a smooth transition. By testing and providing feedback now, you can help us build a more private and secure Android ecosystem.

    Get your apps, libraries, tools, and game engines ready!

    If you develop an SDK, library, tool, or game engine, it’s even more important to prepare any necessary updates now to prevent your downstream app and game developers from being blocked by compatibility issues and allow them to target the latest SDK features. Please let your developers know if updates are needed to fully support Android 16.

    Testing involves installing your production app or a test app making use of your library or engine using Google Play or other means onto a device or emulator running Android 16 Beta 3. Work through all your app’s flows and look for functional or UI issues. Review the behavior changes to focus your testing. Each release of Android contains platform changes that improve privacy, security, and overall user experience, and these changes can affect your apps. Here are several changes to focus on that apply, even if you don’t yet target Android 16:

      • Broadcasts: Ordered broadcasts using priorities only work within the same process. Use other IPC if you need cross-process ordering.
      • ART: If you use reflection, JNI, or any other means to access Android internals, your app might break. This is never a best practice. Test thoroughly.
      • 16KB Page Size: If your app isn’t 16KB-page-size ready, you can use the new compatibility mode flag, but we recommend migrating to 16KB for best performance.

    Other changes that will be impactful once your app targets Android 16:

    Remember to thoroughly exercise libraries and SDKs that your app is using during your compatibility testing. You may need to update to current SDK versions or reach out to the developer for help if you encounter any issues.

    Once you’ve published the Android 16-compatible version of your app, you can start the process to update your app’s targetSdkVersion. Review the behavior changes that apply when your app targets Android 16 and use the compatibility framework to help quickly detect issues.

    Two Android API releases in 2025

    This preview is for the next major release of Android with a planned launch in Q2 of 2025 and we plan to have another release with new developer APIs in Q4. This Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 that includes behavior changes that could affect apps. The Q4 minor release will pick up feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes; like our non-SDK quarterly releases, it will not include any intentional app-breaking behavior changes.

    Android API release timeline 2025

    We’ll continue to have quarterly Android releases. The Q1 and Q3 updates provide incremental updates to ensure continuous quality. We’re putting additional energy into working with our device partners to bring the Q2 release to as many devices as possible.

    There’s no change to the target API level requirements and the associated dates for apps in Google Play; our plans are for one annual requirement each year, tied to the major API level.

    Get started with Android 16

    You can enroll any supported Pixel device to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air. If you don’t have a Pixel device, you can use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio. If you are currently on Android 16 Beta 2 or are already in the Android Beta program, you will be offered an over-the-air update to Beta 3.

    While the API and behaviors are final, we’re still looking for your feedback so please report issues on the feedback page. The earlier we get your feedback, the better chance we’ll be able to address it in this or a future release.

    For the best development experience with Android 16, we recommend that you use the latest feature drop of Android Studio (Meerkat). Once you’re set up, here are some of the things you should do:

      • Compile against the new SDK, test in CI environments, and report any issues in our tracker on the feedback page.

    We’ll update the beta system images and SDK regularly throughout the Android 16 release cycle. Once you’ve installed a beta build, you’ll automatically get future updates over-the-air for all later previews and Betas.

    For complete information on Android 16 please visit the Android 16 developer site.



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  • The Fourth Beta of Android 16



    Posted by Matthew McCullough – VP of Product Management, Android Developer

    Today we’re bringing you Android 16 beta 4, the last scheduled update in our Android 16 beta program. Make sure your app or game is ready. It’s also the last chance to give us feedback before Android 16 is released.

    Android 16 Beta 4

    This is our second platform stability release; the developer APIs and all app-facing behaviors are final. Apps targeting Android 16 can be made available in Google Play. Beta 4 includes our latest fixes and optimizations, giving you everything you need to complete your testing. Head over to our Android 16 summary page for a list of the features and behavior changes we’ve been covering in this series of blog posts, or read on for some of the top changes of which you should be aware.

    Android 16 Release timeline showing Platform Stability milestone in April

    Now available on more devices

    The Android 16 Beta is now available on handset, tablet, and foldable form factors from partners including Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, vivo, and Xiaomi. With more Android 16 partners and device types, many more users can run your app on the Android 16 Beta.

    Android 16 Beta Release Partners: Google Pixel, iQOO, Lenovo, OnePlus, Sharp, Oppo, RealMe, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor

    Get your apps, libraries, tools, and game engines ready!

    If you develop an SDK, library, tool, or game engine, it’s even more important to prepare any necessary updates now to prevent your downstream app and game developers from being blocked by compatibility issues and allow them to target the latest SDK features. Please let your developers know if updates to your SDK are needed to fully support Android 16.

    Testing involves installing your production app or a test app making use of your library or engine using Google Play or other means onto a device or emulator running Android 16 Beta 4. Work through all your app’s flows and look for functional or UI issues. Review the behavior changes to focus your testing. Each release of Android contains platform changes that improve privacy, security, and overall user experience, and these changes can affect your apps. Here are several changes to focus on that apply, even if you aren’t yet targeting Android 16:

      • Broadcasts: Ordered broadcasts using priorities only work within the same process. Use other IPC if you need cross-process ordering.
      • ART: If you use reflection, JNI, or any other means to access Android internals, your app might break. This is never a best practice. Test thoroughly.
      • 16KB Page Size: If your app isn’t 16KB-page-size ready, you can use the new compatibility mode flag, but we recommend migrating to 16KB for best performance.

    Other changes that will be impactful once your app targets Android 16:

    Get your app ready for the future:

      • Local network protection: Consider testing your app with the upcoming Local Network Protection feature. It will give users more control over which apps can access devices on their local network in a future Android major release.

    Remember to thoroughly exercise libraries and SDKs that your app is using during your compatibility testing. You may need to update to current SDK versions or reach out to the developer for help if you encounter any issues.

    Once you’ve published the Android 16-compatible version of your app, you can start the process to update your app’s targetSdkVersion. Review the behavior changes that apply when your app targets Android 16 and use the compatibility framework to help quickly detect issues.

    Two Android API releases in 2025

    This Beta is for the next major release of Android with a planned launch in Q2 of 2025 and we plan to have another release with new developer APIs in Q4. This Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 that includes behavior changes that could affect apps. The Q4 minor release will pick up feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes; like our non-SDK quarterly releases, it will not include any intentional app-breaking behavior changes.

    Android 16 2025 SDK release timeline

    We’ll continue to have quarterly Android releases. The Q1 and Q3 updates provide incremental updates to ensure continuous quality. We’re putting additional energy into working with our device partners to bring the Q2 release to as many devices as possible.

    There’s no change to the target API level requirements and the associated dates for apps in Google Play; our plans are for one annual requirement each year, tied to the major API level.

    Get started with Android 16

    You can enroll any supported Pixel device to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air. If you don’t have a Pixel device, you can use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio. If you are currently on Android 16 Beta 3 or are already in the Android Beta program, you will be offered an over-the-air update to Beta 4.

    While the API and behaviors are final and we are very close to release, we’d still like you to report issues on the feedback page. The earlier we get your feedback, the better chance we’ll be able to address it in this or a future release.

    For the best development experience with Android 16, we recommend that you use the latest Canary build of Android Studio Narwhal. Once you’re set up, here are some of the things you should do:

      • Compile against the new SDK, test in CI environments, and report any issues in our tracker on the feedback page.

    We’ll update the beta system images and SDK regularly throughout the Android 16 release cycle. Once you’ve installed a beta build, you’ll automatically get future updates over-the-air for all later previews and Betas.

    For complete information on Android 16 please visit the Android 16 developer site.



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