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Making Google Play the best place to grow PC games
Posted by Aurash Mahbod – VP and GM of Games on Google Play

We’re stepping up our multiplatform gaming offering with exciting news dropping at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC). We’re bringing users more games, more ways to play your games across devices, and improved gameplay. You can read all about the updates for users from The Keyword. At GDC, we’ll be diving into all of the latest games coming to Play, plus new developer tools that’ll help improve gameplay across the Android ecosystem.

Today, we’re sharing a closer look at what’s new from Play. We’re expanding our support for native PC games with a new earnback program and making Google Play Games on PC generally available this year with major upgrades. Check out the video or keep reading below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP-Bzzn8q4s

Google Play connects developers with over 2 billion monthly active players¹ worldwide. Our tools and features help you engage these players across a wide range of devices to drive engagement and revenue. But we know the gaming landscape is constantly evolving. More and more players enjoy the immersive experiences on PC and want the flexibility to play their favorite games on any screen.

That’s why we’re making even bigger investments in our PC gaming platform. Google Play Games on PC was launched to help mobile games reach more players on PC. Today, we’re expanding this support to native PC games, enabling more developers to connect with our massive player base on mobile.

Expanding support for native PC games

For games that are designed with a PC-first audience in mind, we’ve added even more helpful tools to our native PC program. Games like Wuthering Waves, Remember of Majesty, Genshin Impact, and Journey of Monarch have seen great success on the platform. Based on feedback from early access partners, we’re taking the program even further, with comprehensive support across game development, distribution, and growth on the platform.
We’re opening up the program for all native PC games – including PC-only games – this year. Learn more about the eligibility requirements and how to join the program.

Native PC games on Google Play Games

Making PC an easy choice for mobile developers

Bringing your game to PC unlocks a whole new audience of engaged players. To help maximize your discoverability, we’re making all mobile games available³ on PC by default with the option to opt out anytime.

Games will display a playability badge indicating their compatibility with PC. “Optimized” means that a game meets all of our quality standards for a great gaming experience while “playable” means that the game meets the minimum requirements to play well on a PC. With the support of our new custom control mappings, many games can be playable right out of the box. Learn more about the playability criteria and how to optimize your games for PC today.

Thousands of new games are added to Google Play Games

To enhance our PC experience, we’ve made major upgrades to the platform. Now, gamers can enjoy the full Google Play Games on PC catalog on even more devices, including AMD laptops and desktops. We’re partnering with PC OEMs to make Google Play Games accessible right from the start menu on new devices starting this year.

We’re also bringing new features for players to customize their gaming experiences. Custom controls is now available to help tailor their setup for optimal comfort and performance. Rolling out this month, we’re adding a handy game sidebar for quick adjustments and enabling multi-account and multi-instance support by popular demand.

You can customize controls while playing Dye Hard – Color War

Unlocking exclusive rewards on PC with Play Points

To help you boost engagement, we’re also rolling out a more seamless Play Points⁴ experience on PC. Play Points balance is now easier to track and more rewarding, with up to 10x points boosters⁵ on Google Play Games. This means more opportunities for players to earn and redeem points for in-game items and discounts, enhancing the overall PC experience.

Google Play Points is integrated seamlessly with Google Play Games

Bringing new PC UA tools powered by Google Ads

More developers are launching games on PC than ever, presenting an opportunity to reach a rapidly growing audience on PC. We want to make it easier for developers to reach great players with Google Ads. We’re working on a solution to help developers run user acquisition campaigns for both mobile emulated and native PC titles within Google Play Games on PC. We’re still in the early stages of partner testing, but we look forward to sharing more details later this year.

Join the celebration!

We’re celebrating all that’s to come to Google Play Games on PC with players and developers. Take a look at the behind-the-scenes from our social channels and editorial features on Google Play. At GDC, you can dive into the complete gaming experience that is available on the best Android gaming devices. If you’ll be there, please stop by and say hello – we’re at the Moscone Center West Hall!

¹ Source: Google internal data measuring monthly users who opened a game downloaded from the Play store.

² Additional terms apply for the earnback program.

³ Your game’s visibility on Google Play Games on PC is determined by its playability badge. If your game is labeled as “Untested”, this means it will only appear if a user specifically searches for it in the Google Play Games on PC search menu. The playability badge may change once testing is complete. You can express interest in having Play evaluate your game for playability using this form.

⁵ Offered for a limited time period. Additional terms apply.
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29/04/2025
Multimodal for Gemini in Android Studio, news for gaming devs, the latest devices at MWC, XR and more!
Posted by Anirudh Dewani – Director, Android Developer Relations

We just dropped our Winter episode of #TheAndroidShow, on YouTube and on developer.android.com, and this time we were in Barcelona to give you the latest from Mobile World Congress and across the Android Developer world. We unveiled a big update to Gemini in Android Studio (multi-modal support, so you can translate image to code) and we shared some news for games developers ahead of GDC later this month. Plus we unpacked the latest Android hardware devices from our partners coming out of Mobile World Congress and recapped all of the latest in Android XR. Let’s dive in!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Drt3YeIMuc

Multimodality image-to-code, now available for Gemini in Android Studio

At every stage of the development lifecycle, Gemini in Android Studio has become your AI-powered companion. Today, we took the wraps off a new feature: Gemini in Android Studio now supports multimodal image to code, which lets you attach images directly to your prompts! This unlocks a wealth of new possibilities that improve collaboration and design workflows. You can try out this new feature by downloading the latest canary – Android Studio Narwal, and read more about multimodal image attachment – now available for Gemini in Android Studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_6mtRWJzuc

Building excellent games with better graphics and performance

Ahead of next week’s Games Developer Conference (GDC), we announced new developer tools that will help improve gameplay across the Android ecosystem. We’re making Vulkan the official graphics API on Android, enabling you to build immersive visuals, and we’re enhancing the Android Dynamic Performance Framework (ADPF) to help you deliver longer, more stable gameplay sessions. Learn more about how we’re building excellent games with better graphics and performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkkkwCEkO6I

A deep dive into Android XR

Since we unveiled Android XR in December, it’s been exciting to see developers preparing their apps for the next generation of Android XR devices. In the latest episode of #TheAndroidShow we dove into this new form factor and spoke with a developer who has already been building. Developing for this new platform leverages your existing Android development skills and familiar tools like Android Studio, Kotlin, and Jetpack libraries. The Android XR SDK Developer Preview is available now, complete with an emulator, so you can start experimenting and building XR experiences immediately! Visit developer.android.com/xr for more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkKjMtBYwDA

New Android foldables and tablets, at Mobile World Congress

Mobile World Congress is a big moment for Android, with partners from around the world showing off their latest devices. And if you’re already building adaptive apps, we wanted to share some of the cool new foldable and tablets that our partners released in Barcelona:
These new devices are a great reason to build adaptive apps that scale across screen sizes and device types. Plus, Android 16 removes the ability for apps to restrict orientation and resizability at the platform level, so you’ll want to prepare. To help you get started, the Compose Material 3 adaptive library enables you to quickly and easily create layouts across all screen sizes while reducing the overall development cost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqkUQpsQ2QA

Watch the Winter episode of #TheAndroidShow

That’s a wrap on this quarter’s episode of #TheAndroidShow. A special thanks to our co-hosts for the Fall episode, Simona Milanović and Alejandra Stamato! You can watch the full show on YouTube and on developer.android.com/events/show.

Have an idea for our next episode of #TheAndroidShow? It’s your conversation with the broader community, and we’d love to hear your ideas for our next quarterly episode – you can let us know on X or LinkedIn.
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28/04/2025
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.

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

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:
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.

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:
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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28/04/2025
Discover the Benefits of the DevOps Methodology for Software Development Yeeply

Initial Assessment and Planning
To effectively implement the DevOps framework, it is essential to start with an initial assessment that identifies current processes and areas for improvement. This assessment will help you understand which aspects need adjustments and plan the necessary changes for a successful transition.

Definition of Objectives and Goals
It is important to establish clear objectives and goals for adopting the DevOps methodology. Define what you want to achieve with this methodology, such as improving delivery speed or increasing software quality. These objectives will guide your implementation and allow you to measure the success of the transition.

Selection of Tools and Technologies
Choosing the right tools is crucial for implementing the DevOps approach. There are many tools for automation, monitoring, and infrastructure management. Select those that align with your needs and are compatible with your current processes.

Training and Team Adaptation
For a successful implementation of the DevOps methodology, it is essential to train your team on the new practices and tools. Ensure that everyone understands the principles of DevOps and how to apply them in their daily work. Training will help minimize resistance to change and maximize the effectiveness of the methodology.

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27/04/2025
The No-Code Application Development Platform Yeeply

Creating an app may seem like a complex and costly task. However, platforms like Appy Pie have revolutionized this process, allowing anyone without advanced technical knowledge to develop their own application.

Appy Pie is a no-code application development platform that makes it easy to create mobile apps, websites, chatbots, and more through an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

Since its launch, the platform has grown and adapted to market needs, providing an accessible and efficient solution for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and organizations of all types.

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27/04/2025
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.

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.

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

Get your app ready for the future:
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.

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:
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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25/04/2025
Kodeco Podcast: All the Conferences – Podcast V2, S3 E3
Thank you for your patience as extraordinary life events turned our schedule topsy turvy. Here, at last, is our All the Conferences episode, featuring iOS community luminaries Mikalea Caron and Matt Heaney. Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or just conference-curious, this episode is packed with insights on how to choose the right events, travel smart, and even lower your costs—sometimes all the way down to zero!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | Google Podcasts | Spotify |

[Subscribe in Apple Podcasts] [Listen in Spotify] [RSS Feed]

Interested in sponsoring a podcast episode? Check out our Advertise With Kodeco page to find out how!

Show Notes

Join Suz and Dru as they sit down with indie iOS developer Mikaela Caron and Atomic’s new mobile engineering manager Matt Heaney. These two are not only passionate conference attendees—they’re frequent speakers, community leaders, and strong advocates for developer connection and growth. From how to break into speaking, to choosing your first conference, to eating your way through the Swift world tour, there’s something here for every dev.

Highlights from this episode:
- How submitting a CFP (Call for Proposals) could get you into conferences for free—and help launch your speaking career.
- Tips for discovering new conferences, including the magic of CocoaConferences.com.
- How to network at conferences, even if you’re introverted—and why just saying “it’s my first time” can be a superpower.
Mentioned in This Episode

Contact Matt, Mikalea, and the Hosts

Follow Kodeco

Where to Go From Here?

We hope you enjoyed this episode of our podcast. Be sure to subscribe in Apple Podcasts or Spotify to get notified when the next episode comes out.

Hoping to learn more about a particular aspect of mobile development or life and work as a dev? Please write in and tell us and we’ll do our best to make that happen! Write in too if you yourself would like to be a guest or your have a particular guest request and we’ll see what we can do. Drop a comment here, or email us anytime at podcast@teamkodeco.com.
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24/04/2025
Pixel’s Call Notes hints at automatic call recording for the US
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR

Pixel 9 phones in the US currently require manually activating Call Notes on every call to record, transcribe, and summarize them.

Google has been spotted testing automatic call recording within the Call Notes feature, indicating that automatic call recording could finally make its way to the US.

However, Google has previously stated that automatic activation wasn’t meant for public release and was limited to internal testing only. So the fate of the feature remains in the air.
The Google Phone app, which is preloaded on several Android flagships, offers call recording in several regions globally, but not in the US (even though you can legally record calls in most states after adequate consent). Instead, users in the US have to use the Pixel 9’s Call Notes feature to record a phone call. However, Call Notes is only available per call, requiring users to consciously activate it whenever they want to record, transcribe, or summarize a phone call. Now, Google has been spotted working on automatic call recording within the Call Notes feature that would make life a lot easier, but we aren’t sure if the company ever plans to release it.

You’re reading an Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won’t find anywhere else.

An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.

Currently, on Pixel 9 series devices in the US, you can activate the Call Notes feature during a call to start recording it and receive an AI-generated summary and even the call transcript.

However, this action is deliberate and manual, as you have to activate the feature by tapping the Call Notes button during every call you want to record. Needless to say, it’s pretty cumbersome if you want to use the feature on many calls.

But what if you could generate call notes automatically? Google was spotted deliberating on the idea in August 2024, with settings to automatically start Call Notes for various phone calls.

However, in a statement to Android Police back then, a Google spokesperson mentioned that the code related to automatic activation wasn’t meant for public release and was limited to internal testing only. Consequently, automatic Call Notes did not roll out to Pixel 9 users in the US at the time.
Curiously, these options still exist within the Phone by Google app. With Phone v172.0 beta, Google has now tweaked the automatic Call Notes option to Automatic Call Recording, switching from an automatic summary to automatic recording. The options are also now limited to these two:

Automatically record unknown numbers

Automatically record these numbers

We managed to activate the settings page for the feature, and here’s what it looks like right now:
The above-mentioned new options are similar to the Call Recording settings, which users in several countries already have.

However, the US doesn’t have the Call Recording feature in the Phone by Google app, so this is one roundabout way of bringing that functionality to the region. The revised settings also don’t mean Call Notes will automatically summarize or transcribe the recordings. But, presuming you have the recordings stored for later use, you can always select to do so later on calls that you need summaries and transcriptions for, so it won’t be all that inconvenient.

It remains to be seen whether Google finally allows US users to automatically record calls and work its Call Notes magic. For now, users in the US must stick to the manual and cumbersome method of individually beginning Call Notes for every call they need to record, transcribe, and summarize. Given its utility and the progress the company has already made on the feature, we hope it will be released soon.

Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at news@androidauthority.com. You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it’s your choice.
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24/04/2025
On TikTok, Chinese Manufacturers Open a New Line in the Trade War

Chinese manufacturers are flooding TikTok and other social media apps with direct appeals to American shoppers, urging people to buy luxury items straight from their factories. And amid the threats of sky-high tariffs on Chinese exports, Americans seem to be all in.

The pitch in the videos is that people can buy leggings and handbags exactly like those from brands like Lululemon, Hermes and Birkenstock, but for a fraction of the price. They claim, often falsely, that the products are made in the same factories that produce items for those brands.

American influencers have embraced the videos, promoting the factories and driving downloads of Chinese shopping apps like DHGate and Taobao as a way for shoppers to save money if the price of goods skyrockets under President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports. DHGate was among the 10 most downloaded apps in Apple’s and Google’s app stores last week.

The videos are surging in popularity on TikTok and Instagram, racking up millions of views and thousands of likes. Many of the posts also seem to have elicited Americans’ sympathy for China in comments, such as “Trump bullied the wrong country” and “China won this war.”

The videos offer a rare outlet for Chinese factory owners and workers to speak directly to American consumers through social media apps that are technically banned in China. And their popularity in America highlights increasingly vocal support for China on social media, similar to the outcry over the federal government’s potential ban of TikTok.

“It’s activating people politically in a similar way that you saw when we were going to cancel TikTok, but this time in the context of tariffs and the overall relationship with the two countries,” said Matt Pearl, a director who focuses on technology issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It does demonstrate their ability to communicate with American consumers to drive a message about our dependence on Chinese goods.”

Mr. Pearl suggested that the Chinese government might be allowing the videos to proliferate, since it has otherwise tended to discourage its citizens from posting videos that infringe on trademarked products from Western countries.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Chinese Consulate in New York did not return requests for comment.

The volume of TikTok videos urging users to source products directly from Chinese factories soared almost 250 percent during the week of April 13, according to Margot Hardy, an analyst at Graphika, a social network analysis firm. On TikTok, the hashtag #ChineseFactory had 29,500 posts on April 23; on Instagram, it had 27,300 posts.

Retail experts — and vendors in China — say it’s unlikely that the most viral videos, which claim to be manufacturers for brands like Lululemon and Hermes, are peddling authentic products from those labels. Those factories often sign strict nondisclosure agreements and are unlikely to destroy their long-term relationships with major brands in exchange for hawking a few goods through direct sales, said Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst at Forrester.

The Chinese government appears to be allowing the videos to proliferate, she said.

“A Lululemon or Chanel’s interests right now in China are probably No. 100 on the list of things that the Chinese trade minister and officials there are concerned about,” Ms. Kodali said. Manufacturers may also be rushing to close sales before new tariffs on May 2 add hefty fees to parcel shipments from China, she said.

Still, questions around the veracity of the goods aren’t stopping demand.

Elizabeth Henzie, a 23-year-old in Mooresville, N.C., said she found the manufacturing costs and retail prices described in the videos eye-opening. She made a spreadsheet of factories that claim they are selling dupes of sneakers, luxury bags and more, and linked it in her TikTok profile. That post has attracted more than one million views.

Ms. Henzie is now working as an affiliate partner for DHGate, where she will receive free products from the company for review videos and a commission if people make a purchase through her links. She said she believed that people in China were ultimately trying to help Americans.

“Seeing how other countries are coming together to try to help American consumers has boosted my morale,” Ms. Henzie said. “Even though it’s a negative thing that’s going on in America, I think it’s also pushing us to come together.”

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been taking down some of the videos, pointing to a policy that prohibits the promotion of counterfeit goods. But many have persisted through reposts. Even older videos about Chinese manufacturing are spreading in personalized news feeds amid major interest in the tariffs. TikTok declined to comment further, and Instagram, which is owned by Meta, declined to comment on the videos.

Sellers in China say they started posting the videos when sales fell. Yu Qiule, the 36-year-old co-owner of a manufacturing company in Shandong Province in eastern China that makes fitness equipment, said he started posting to TikTok in mid-March to find more customers after the tariffs prompted a wave of canceled orders.

Louis Lv, the general manager of export at Hongye Jewelry Factory in Yiwu, in Zhejiang Province, said his firm started posting on TikTok at the end of 2024, driven by a slowdown in domestic sales.

But he has watched the viewership in his TikTok videos soar since the Trump administration announced the tariffs. “The philosophy of Chinese businessmen is we will go wherever the business is,” he said in an interview.

In one of the most popular TikTok videos, a man is holding what he says is a Hermes Birkin bag while claiming to share its production costs from a factory. (The original video and account have been removed, but versions of the video are still widely circulating through reposts from other users.) He says that the purse costs less than $1,400 to manufacture but that the French luxury retailer sells it for $38,000 solely for the label. The man claimed that he used the same leather and same hardware to replicate the handbags without the logo, offering them for $1,000.

A spokesman for Hermes said its bags “were 100 percent made in France,” and declined to comment further. A spokeswoman for Birkenstock said that the videos showed “knockoffs” and that its footwear was engineered and produced in the European Union. The company said that it had contacted TikTok and that initial videos were deleted on April 15.

Lululemon, which has also been the target of viral TikTok videos from manufacturers who claim to sell its leggings for just $5, said it had been in touch with TikTok to remove false claims. Lululemon said in an emailed statement that it didn’t work with the manufacturers in the videos and warned consumers to be aware of potentially counterfeit products and misinformation.

Vanessa Friedman and Isabelle Qian contributed reporting from New York.

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24/04/2025
What’s new in the Jetpack Compose April ’25 release
Posted by Jolanda Verhoef – Developer Relations Engineer

Today, as part of the Compose April ‘25 Bill of Materials, we’re releasing version 1.8 of Jetpack Compose, Android’s modern, native UI toolkit, used by many developers. This release contains new features like autofill, various text improvements, visibility tracking, and new ways to animate a composable’s size and location. It also stabilizes many experimental APIs and fixes a number of bugs.

To use today’s release, upgrade your Compose BOM version to 2025.04.01 :
implementation(platform("androidx.compose:compose-bom:2025.04.01"))
Note: If you are not using the Bill of Materials, make sure to upgrade Compose Foundation and Compose UI at the same time. Otherwise, autofill will not work correctly.

Autofill

Autofill is a service that simplifies data entry. It enables users to fill out forms, login screens, and checkout processes without manually typing in every detail. Now, you can integrate this functionality into your Compose applications.

Setting up Autofill in your Compose text fields is straightforward:
TextField( state = rememberTextFieldState(), modifier = Modifier.semantics { contentType = ContentType.Username } )
For full details on how to implement autofill in your application, see the Autofill in Compose documentation.

Text

When placing text inside a container, you can now use the autoSize parameter in BasicText to let the text size automatically adapt to the container size:
Box { BasicText( text = "Hello World", maxLines = 1, autoSize = TextAutoSize.StepBased() ) }
You can customize sizing by setting a minimum and/or maximum font size and define a step size. Compose Foundation 1.8 contains this new BasicText overload, with Material 1.4 to follow soon with an updated Text overload.

Furthermore, Compose 1.8 enhances text overflow handling with new TextOverflow.StartEllipsis or TextOverflow.MiddleEllipsis options, which allow you to display ellipses at the beginning or middle of a text line.
val text = "This is a long text that will overflow" Column(Modifier.width(200.dp)) { Text(text, maxLines = 1, overflow = TextOverflow.Ellipsis) Text(text, maxLines = 1, overflow = TextOverflow.StartEllipsis) Text(text, maxLines = 1, overflow = TextOverflow.MiddleEllipsis) }
And finally, we’re expanding support for HTML formatting in AnnotatedString, with the addition of bulleted lists:
Text( AnnotatedString.fromHtml( """ <h1>HTML content</h1> <ul> <li>Hello,</li> <li>World</li> </ul> """.trimIndent() ) )
Visibility tracking

Compose UI 1.8 introduces a new modifier: onLayoutRectChanged. This API solves many use cases that the existing onGloballyPositioned modifier does; however, it does so with much less overhead. The onLayoutRectChanged modifier can debounce and throttle the callback per what the use case demands, which helps with performance when it’s added onto an item in LazyColumn or LazyRow.

This new API unlocks features that depend on a composable’s visibility on screen. Compose 1.9 will add higher-level abstractions to this low-level API to simplify common use cases.

Animate composable bounds

Last year we introduced shared element transitions, which smoothly animate content in your apps. The 1.8 Animation module graduates LookaheadScope to stable, includes numerous performance and stability improvements, and includes a new modifier, animateBounds. When used inside a LookaheadScope, this modifier automatically animates its composable’s size and position on screen, when those change:
Box( Modifier .width(if(expanded) 180.dp else 110.dp) .offset(x = if (expanded) 0.dp else 100.dp) .animateBounds(lookaheadScope = this@LookaheadScope) .background(Color.LightGray, shape = RoundedCornerShape(12.dp)) .height(50.dp) ) { Text("Layout Content", Modifier.align(Alignment.Center)) }
Increased API stability

Jetpack Compose has utilized @Experimental annotations to mark APIs that are liable to change across releases, for features that require more than a library’s alpha period to stabilize. We have heard your feedback that a number of features have been marked as experimental for some time with no changes, contributing to a sense of instability. We are actively looking at stabilizing existing experimental APIs—in the UI and Foundation modules, we have reduced the experimental APIs from 172 in the 1.7 release to 70 in the 1.8 release. We plan to continue this stabilization trend across modules in future releases.

Deprecation of contextual flow rows and columns

As part of the work to reduce experimental annotations, we identified APIs added in recent releases that are less than optimal solutions for their use cases. This has led to the decision to deprecate the experimental ContextualFlowRow and ContextualFlowColumn APIs, added in Foundation 1.7. If you need the deprecated functionality, our recommendation for now is to copy over the implementation and adapt it as needed, while we work on a plan for future components that can cover these functionalities better.

The related APIs FlowRow and FlowColumn are now stable; however, the new overflow parameter that was added in the last release is now deprecated.

Improvements and fixes for core features

In response to developer feedback, we have shipped some particularly in-demand features and bug fixes in our core libraries:
Get started!

We’re grateful for all of the bug reports and feature requests submitted to our issue tracker – they help us to improve Compose and build the APIs you need. Continue providing your feedback, and help us make Compose better.

Happy composing!
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24/04/2025