Posted by Maru Ahues Bouza, Director, Android Developer Relations
From foldable improvements to seamless connectivity, Google and Samsung have continued to work collectively to create useful experiences throughout Android telephones, tablets, smartwatches and extra. At present at Galaxy Unpacked in Seoul, Samsung unveiled the brand new Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold5, Galaxy Watch6 sequence, and Galaxy Tab S9 sequence.
With these new units from Samsung, there are 4 extra causes to make sure your app seems to be nice throughout all of your person’s favourite screens. Listed below are 3 ways you possibly can guarantee your app is prepared for these nice new Samsung units:
1. Present a terrific foldable expertise
The launch of the brand new Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 brings two model new foldables to the Android ecosystem, so it is very important present experiences which have absolutely adaptive UIs. The underside line is that format and app habits ought to be based mostly on gadget configuration and obtainable options, and never the bodily sort of the gadget.
On the subject of offering a terrific foldable expertise, listed below are just a few of our prime suggestions:
- Use window dimension courses to information format choices based mostly in your present windowing state utilizing opinionated breakpoints which might be derived from frequent gadget sorts.
- Observe folding options with Jetpack WindowManager, which supplies the set of folding options that intersect your app’s present window.
- Make dynamic, runtime choices based mostly on whether or not a function is offered, as an alternative of assuming {that a} function is or is just not obtainable for a sure type of gadget.
- Referring within the UI to the person’s gadget as merely a “gadget” covers all kind elements and is the best to implement. Nonetheless, differentiating between the a number of units a person might have supplies a extra polished expertise and allows you to show the kind of the gadget to the person utilizing heuristics related to your explicit use case.
You possibly can be taught extra about how (and why) to implement the suggestions above on this detailed weblog and, to seek out greatest practices for updating your app, take a look at the Assist totally different display screen sizes web page.
2. Design with multi-device experiences in thoughts
With new units, massive and small, it is very important assume by way of the person expertise you hope to perform. A big a part of that’s the UI and design of your app – with particular consideration to account for based mostly on display screen sizes and kinds.
Guaranteeing your app seems to be nice on giant screens is a essential a part of your customers’ expertise. Materials You helps lovely, environment friendly pill and foldable experiences – and, at Google I/O this 12 months, the workforce dove into the newest updates to giant display screen tips for designers and builders. You can even get impressed with the newest design steering and mockup in take a look at the Giant Screens Gallery.
To assist with the challenges of designing and constructing nice watch experiences that work for all, we created our the Put on OS Gallery This weblog and the sequence of movies that accompany it are constructed to get you began designing inclusive smartwatch apps. For much more info on lovely smartwatch design, uncover the brand new Put on OS Gallery the place you will discover common design suggestions, verticalized use circumstances, and implementation concepts.
3. Prepare for Put on OS 4
The following era of Put on OS is right here! The Galaxy Watch6 sequence comes with the latest model of Google’s smartwatch platform, Put on OS 4. This platform replace can be coming quickly to different Samsung Galaxy watches, together with the Watch4 and Watch5.
Put on OS 4 is predicated on Android 13, which is a number of variations newer than the present Put on OS model, so your app might want to deal with the system habits modifications that took impact in Android 12 and Android 13. We suggest you begin by testing your app and releasing a suitable replace first – as units get upgraded to Put on OS 4, it’s a fundamental however a essential stage of high quality that gives a superb app expertise for customers.
Obtain the Put on OS 4 emulator in Android Studio Hedgehog to discover new options and check your app on Put on OS 4 Developer Preview.
The discharge of Put on OS 4 comes with many thrilling modifications – together with a brand new solution to construct watchfaces.
The brand new Watch Face Format is a declarative XML format that permits you to configure the looks and habits of watch faces. Because of this there is not any executable code concerned in making a watch face, and there is not any code embedded in your watch face APK. The Put on OS platform takes care of the logic wanted to render the watch face so you possibly can focus in your artistic concepts, slightly than code optimizations or battery efficiency.
Get began with watch faces utilizing our documentation or create your personal watch face with Samsung’s Watch Face Studio design instrument.
Get began constructing a multi-device expertise immediately!
With all of the superb additions to the Android ecosystem coming from Galaxy Unpacked, there has by no means been a greater time to make certain your app seems to be nice on all of the units your customers know and love – from tablets to foldables to watches.
Be taught extra about constructing multi-device experiences from Deezer, the place they elevated their month-to-month lively customers 4X after enhancing multi-device help. Then get began with Jetpack WindowManager that will help you construct a responsive app for giant screens by trying out the documentation and pattern app. Lastly, get to know Put on OS 4 and check out it out along with your app!
