برچسب: SDK

  • Android Developers Blog: Updates to the Android XR SDK: Introducing Developer Preview 2



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

    Since launching the Android XR SDK Developer Preview alongside Samsung, Qualcomm, and Unity last year, we’ve been blown away by all of the excitement we’ve been hearing from the broader Android community. Whether it’s through coding live-streams or local Google Developer Group talks, it’s been an outstanding experience participating in the community to build the future of XR together, and we’re just getting started.

    Today we’re excited to share an update to the Android XR SDK: Developer Preview 2, packed with new features and improvements to help you develop helpful and delightful immersive experiences with familiar Android APIs, tools and open standards created for XR.

    At Google I/O, we have two technical sessions related to Android XR. The first is Building differentiated apps for Android XR with 3D content, which covers many features present in Jetpack SceneCore and ARCore for Jetpack XR. The future is now, with Compose and AI on Android XR covers creating XR-differentiated UI and our vision on the intersection of XR with cutting-edge AI capabilities.

    Android XR sessions at Google I/O 2025

    Building differentiated apps for Android XR with 3D content and The future is now, with Compose and AI on Android XR

    What’s new in Developer Preview 2

    Since the release of Developer Preview 1, we’ve been focused on making the APIs easier to use and adding new immersive Android XR features. Your feedback has helped us shape the development of the tools, SDKs, and the platform itself.

    With the Jetpack XR SDK, you can now play back 180° and 360° videos, which can be stereoscopic by encoding with the MV-HEVC specification or by encoding view-frames adjacently. The MV-HEVC standard is optimized and designed for stereoscopic video, allowing your app to efficiently play back immersive videos at great quality. Apps built with Jetpack Compose for XR can use the SpatialExternalSurface composable to render media, including stereoscopic videos.

    Using Jetpack Compose for XR, you can now also define layouts that adapt to different XR display configurations. For example, use a SubspaceModifier to specify the size of a Subspace as a percentage of the device’s recommended viewing size, so a panel effortlessly fills the space it’s positioned in.

    Material Design for XR now supports more component overrides for TopAppBar, AlertDialog, and ListDetailPaneScaffold, helping your large-screen enabled apps that use Material Design effortlessly adapt to the new world of XR.

    An app adapts to XR using Material Design for XR with the new component overrides

    An app adapts to XR using Material Design for XR with the new component overrides

    In ARCore for Jetpack XR, you can now track hands after requesting the appropriate permissions. Hands are a collection of 26 posed hand joints that can be used to detect hand gestures and bring a whole new level of interaction to your Android XR apps:

    moving image demonstrates how hands bring a natural input method to your Android XR experience.

    Hands bring a natural input method to your Android XR experience.

    For more guidance on developing apps for Android XR, check out our Android XR Fundamentals codelab, the updates to our Hello Android XR sample project, and a new version of JetStream with Android XR support.

    The Android XR Emulator has also received updates to stability, support for AMD GPUs, and is now fully integrated within the Android Studio UI.

    the Android XR Emulator in Android STudio

    The Android XR Emulator is now integrated in Android Studio

    Developers using Unity have already successfully created and ported existing games and apps to Android XR. Today, you can upgrade to the Pre-Release version 2 of the Unity OpenXR: Android XR package! This update adds many performance improvements such as support for Dynamic Refresh Rate, which optimizes your app’s performance and power consumption. Shaders made with Shader Graph now support SpaceWarp, making it easier to use SpaceWarp to reduce compute load on the device. Hand meshes are now exposed with occlusion, which enables realistic hand visualization.

    Check out Unity’s improved Mixed Reality template for Android XR, which now includes support for occlusion and persistent anchors.

    We recently launched Android XR Samples for Unity, which demonstrate capabilities on the Android XR platform such as hand tracking, plane tracking, face tracking, and passthrough.

    moving image of Google’s open-source Unity samples demonstrating platform features and showing how they’re implemented

    Google’s open-source Unity samples demonstrate platform features and show how they’re implemented

    The Firebase AI Logic for Unity is now in public preview! This makes it easy for you to integrate gen AI into your apps, enabling the creation of AI-powered experiences with Gemini and Android XR. The Firebase AI Logic fully supports Gemini’s capabilities, including multimodal input and output, and bi-directional streaming for immersive conversational interfaces. Built with production readiness in mind, Firebase AI Logic is integrated with core Firebase services like App Check, Remote Config, and Cloud Storage for enhanced security, configurability, and data management. Learn more about this on the Firebase blog or go straight to the Gemini API using Vertex AI in Firebase SDK documentation to get started.

    Continuing to build the future together

    Our commitment to open standards continues with the glTF Interactivity specification, in collaboration with the Khronos Group. which will be supported in glTF models rendered by Jetpack XR later this year. Models using the glTF Interactivity specification are self-contained interactive assets that can have many pre-programmed behaviors, like rotating objects on a button press or changing the color of a material over time.

    Android XR will be available first on Samsung’s Project Moohan, launching later this year. Soon after, our partners at XREAL will release the next Android XR device. Codenamed Project Aura, it’s a portable and tethered device that gives users access to their favorite Android apps, including those that have been built for XR. It will launch as a developer edition, specifically for you to begin creating and experimenting. The best news? With the familiar tools you use to build Android apps today, you can build for these devices too.

    product image of XREAL’s Project Aura against a nebulous black background

    XREAL’s Project Aura

    The Google Play Store is also getting ready for Android XR. It will list supported 2D Android apps on the Android XR Play Store when it launches later this year. If you are working on an Android XR differentiated app, you can get it ready for the big launch and be one of the first differentiated apps on the Android XR Play Store:

    And we know many of you are excited for the future of Android XR on glasses. We are shaping the developer experience now and will share more details on how you can participate later this year.

    To get started creating and developing for Android XR, check out developer.android.com/develop/xr where you will find all of the tools, libraries, and resources you need to work with the Android XR SDK. In particular, try out our samples and codelabs.

    We welcome your feedback, suggestions, and ideas as you’re helping shape Android XR. Your passion, expertise, and bold ideas are vital as we continue to develop Android XR together. We look forward to seeing your XR-differentiated apps when Android XR devices launch later this year!

    Explore this announcement and all Google I/O 2025 updates on io.google starting May 22.



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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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