Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version

Published by: Android Product Manager Jamal Eason

Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version

Android Studio 2.0 is the fastest way to build high-quality, high-performance applications for various Android platforms, including smartphones and tablets, Android Auto, Android Wear, and Android TV.

As the official IDE provided by Google, Android Studio includes all the features needed to build applications, including a code editor, code analysis tools, emulators, and more. This new stable version of Android Studio boasts extremely fast build speeds and fast emulators that support the latest Android versions and Google Play services.

Android Studio works seamlessly with the Android platform and supports all the latest and most powerful APIs. If you are engaged in Android development, you should use Android Studio 2.0. You can now easily download or update Android Studio 2.0 from our release channels.

Download Channel:

developer.android.com/intl/zh-cn/sdk/index.html

Android Studio 2.0 includes the following new features that Android developers can use in their development process:

  • Instant Run – For every developer who wants faster build speeds. Make changes and see them in the running app. With various build/run acceleration features (from VM hot swapping to hot swapping app resources), Instant Run will save you time every day.

  • Android Emulator – The new emulator runs approximately 3 times faster than the previous Android emulator, and with enhanced Android Debug Bridge (ADB) capabilities, you can now push apps and data to the emulator 10 times faster than to physical devices. Like physical devices, the official Android emulator includes built-in Google Play services so you can actually test more API features. Finally, the new emulator has rich new features to manage calls, battery, network, GPS, and more.

  • Cloud Test Lab Integration – Write once, run anywhere. Quickly and easily test on a variety of physical Android devices in the cloud test lab directly within Android Studio to improve app quality.

  • App Indexing Code Generation and Testing – Use the App Indexing feature in Android Studio to add auto-generated URLs, which helps improve your app’s visibility in Google Search. With just a few clicks, you can add indexable URL links, and you can test all these links in the IDE.

  • GPU Debugger Preview – For developers of OpenGL ES-based games or applications, you can now use the new GPU debugger to view each frame and GL state. Capture and analyze GPU streams from Android devices to discover and diagnose GL rendering issues.

  • IntelliJ 15 Updates – Android Studio is built on the world-class IntelliJ coding platform.

Learn More About New Features
Instant Run
Today, mobile platforms are centered around speed and agility. However, building mobile applications can sometimes feel clunky and slow. Instant Run in Android Studio is our solution to help you enjoy a fast and smooth development process. This feature improves developer productivity by shortening the edit, build, and run cycles. After clicking the Instant Run button (Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version), Instant Run analyzes the changes made and determines how to deploy the new code in the fastest way possible.
Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version

New Instant Run Button

It injects code changes into the running app process whenever possible to avoid redeployment and reinstalling the APK. For certain types of changes, a restart of the activity or app is required, but the edit, build, and run cycles should generally be much faster than before. Instant Run works on any Android device or emulator running API 14 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher.

Since the release of the Instant Run preview version at the end of last year, we have spent countless hours collecting feedback and optimizing for a stable version. As the improvement of build speed is never-ending, we will seek to further accelerate the speed in future versions.

Android Emulator
In terms of CPU, RAM, and I/O speed, the new Android emulator is up to 3 times faster than the previous Android emulator. When you’re ready to build, the push speed of Android Debug Bridge (ADB) has improved by up to 10 times! In most cases, developing on the official Android emulator is faster than developing on real devices, especially when new features like Instant Run work best with the new Android emulator.

In addition to speed and performance advantages, the Android emulator also features a completely new user interface and several sensor controls. The emulator has been continuously enhanced since its initial version, allowing you to quickly install by dragging and dropping APKs, resize and scale the window, and use multi-touch operations (pinching, zooming, panning, rotating, tilting), etc.

Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version Android Emulator User Interface: Toolbar and Extended Control Panel
To try out the new emulator, simply update the SDK tools to version 25.1.1 or higher, create a new Android Virtual Device (AVD) using one of the recommended x86 system images, and you can start using it.
Cloud Test Lab
The Cloud Test Lab is a new service that allows you to test your applications in bulk in the cloud on a variety of devices and device configurations. After performing initial tests with your own Android emulator or Android devices, the Cloud Test Lab is an excellent extension of your testing process, allowing you to run a series of tests on physical device combinations hosted in Google data centers. Even if you haven’t explicitly written test scripts, the Cloud Test Lab can still execute a set of basic tests to ensure your app doesn’t crash.

The new interface in Android Studio allows you to configure the test combinations to run in the Cloud Test Lab and also lets you view the test results.

Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable VersionSetting Up Cloud Test Lab

App Indexing

Now with the App Indexing API, your users can more easily find your app in Google Search. Android Studio 2.0 can help you create the correct URL structure in your app code and add relevant attributes in the AndroidManifest.xml file that will be used to manage Google App Indexing services.

After adding URLs to your app, you can test and validate your App Indexing code as follows:

Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable VersionGoogle App Indexing Test

GPU Debugger Preview

If you are developing OpenGL ES games or graphics-intensive applications, Android Studio 2.0 provides you with a new GPU debugger. Although the GPU debugger is still in preview, you can step through your application frame by frame to determine and debug graphics rendering issues with rich information about GL state.

Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable VersionGPU Debugger Preview

Next Steps
Updates

If you are using an earlier version of Android Studio, you can check for updates on the Beta release channel in the navigation menu (“Help”→”Check for Update” [for Windows/Linux], or “Android Studio”→”Check for Updates” [for OS X]). If you are developing for the N Developer Preview, please refer to the additional setup instructions.

Setup Instructions:

developer.android.com/intl/zh-cn/preview/setup-sdk.html#get-as13

Setting Up Instant Run and Android Emulator
After updating to or downloading Android Studio 2.0, you should upgrade your project to use Instant Run and create a brand new Android Virtual Device (AVD) for the new Android emulator, and then you can enjoy a fast Android development experience.
Instant Run is easy to use. For each existing project, you will see a quick prompt asking you to update your project to the new gradle plugin version (com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.0.0).

Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version

Prompt to Update Gradle Version in Project

For all new application projects in Android Studio 2.0, Instant Run is enabled by default.

We are already working on the next version of Android Studio. We appreciate any feedback you provide regarding features you like, issues you encounter, or features you would like to see. Connect with us (the Android Studio development team) on our new Google+ information page or Twitter.

Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version

Original text from 【Android Developers Global Blog】:

android-developers.blogspot.com

Chinese translated article 【China Google Developers Forum】 (at the endRead Original):

chinagdg.com/thread-32143-1-1.html

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Comprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable VersionComprehensive Introduction to Android Studio 2.0 Stable Version

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