Android Emulator
Android Studio
The early preview of the new Android Emulator is now available for testing. As part of Android Studio 2.0, the latest version of the Android Emulator helps you test your applications across various screen sizes and configurations, in addition to the physical Android hardware you use for testing. Moreover, using the official Android Emulator allows you to test with the latest version of Android.
On this basis, the two main advantages of the new Android Emulator include:
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Speed and Performance: When emulating the latest Android 6.0 version (Marshmallow), we now support symmetric multiprocessing and have made significant improvements to the I/O of the emulator and ADB. This means that your applications will run faster and perform better when you test them.
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Usability and User Interface: The new Android Emulator has added a brand new user interface that makes it easier to use. You no longer have to rely solely on command-line arguments to use the Android Emulator. Now, you can perform common tasks and utilize emulator features with just a click of the mouse or a keyboard shortcut.
We previewed the user interface at the Android Developer Summit. Now, you can try out the interface along with the new ADB version for faster APK installation and file transfers to the emulator. Watch the demonstration video of the new Android Emulator.
Android Developer Summit 2015: Emulator Demo
We look forward to your early feedback, which helps us continue to provide experiences and features that enhance your productivity.
New Features in the Android Emulator Preview
1Performance Enhancements
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CPU Performance
Now, by default, Android Studio uses CPU acceleration on x86 emulator system images. Combined with the new symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) support in the Android 6.0 Marshmallow system image, the Android Emulator runs faster than many physical Android devices. Multi-core support not only improves the speed of applications and the emulator but also accelerates general developer tasks such as installing APKs. Additionally, with SMP, you can test applications specifically designed for multiprocessor Android devices.
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Faster ADB
In addition to improving the CPU speed in the emulator, we have also made many internal improvements that enhance the experience speed. The speed of pushing data between Android Studio and your device using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) has been a bottleneck in our development process. Now, with the new Android Emulator, when using Android 6.0 Marshmallow and higher system images, the speed of pushing files across ADB can be up to five times faster than on real devices. This improvement is very helpful when pushing large APKs or files during the application development cycle.
2User Interface
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Toolbar
The new interface displays some of the most commonly used emulator operations in the new toolbar and control panel, rather than relying solely on command-line options. For the preview version, the Android Emulator toolbar enables operations such as volume control, screen rotation, and taking screenshots of the emulator window.
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Window Scaling and Resizing
You can now resize the window by dragging a corner. You can also zoom and scroll to get a clearer view of a specific part of the screen.
First Image: Zooming
Second Image: Window Resizing
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Drag and Drop
With the new emulator, you can not only drag and drop APK files for quick installation but also drag and drop any files to the emulator’s internal SD card to assist in testing.
Drag and Drop Files
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Extended UI Controls
The extended controls window provides additional options to help you validate and test features in your application. As shown, you can initiate a series of emulator operations such as making virtual calls, sending virtual SMS, or controlling the emulator’s power levels. Additionally, you can send a single GPS location to the emulator or replay custom KML settings or GPX points.
Phone Controls
Battery Controls
We will continue to add more features, and we will notify you when they are added.
3Future Plans and Arrangements
This is just the beginning of the Android Emulator development, and future versions of Android Studio will provide more features, such as support for more API levels and adding more sensors, so stay tuned! The new emulator and Android Studio are currently available through the Android Studio canary channel and tools preview channel.
For more information on how to set up the new Android Emulator preview, please visit:
tools.android.com/tech-docs/emulator
Thank you very much for your feedback. Please contact the Android Studio development team via Google+.
Original article from 【Android Developers Global Blog】:
android-developers.blogspot.com
Chinese translation article 【China Google Developer Forum】 (at the end“Read Original”):
chinagdg.com/thread-31962-1-1.html
