In addition to being the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Android development, Android Studio has been evolving consistently to meet the emerging trends in mobile app development. In October 2017, Google released Android Studio 3.0 with several new features, changes, and improvements. The version 3.0 of Android Studio allows programmers to choose from two official programming languages for Android app development – Java and Kotlin.

It comes with several enhancements to make it easier for developers to write better Android apps in Java. Also, it comes with a number of new features to enable developers to write Android mobile apps in Kotlin. Android app developers should understand the important Android Studio 3.0 features to simplify development and testing of mobile apps in Android 8.0 Oreo. Hence, it becomes mobile app developers to understand some of the new and improved features provided by Android Studio 3.0.

Overview of Android Studio 3.0 Features, Improvements and Changes

Facilitates Android App Development with Kotlin

Google made Kotlin the second official programming language for Android app development at its I/O 2017 developer conference. Kotlin comes with built-in features to facilitate Android app development. It further helps programmers to build apps with maintainable code. Android Studio 3.0 enables developers to write mobile apps for Android platform in Kotlin. Google has already bundled Kotlin support inside the IDE. The developers can avail code completion and syntax highlighting features for Kotlin. Also, they can take advantage of the built-in tool provided by Android Studio 3.0 to convert Java files into Kotlin files without putting extra time and effort. Here are 7 things Android app developers should know about Kotlin.

Supports Features Provided by Java 8

In addition to supporting Kotlin programming language, Android Studio 3.0 also comes with enhanced support for Java 8. It enables developers to build robust mobile apps for Android platform by leveraging the new features provided by Java 8. It becomes easier for developers to avail language features of Java 8 by providing updated javac and dx toolset. While working with Android Studio, the developers can avail Java 9 programs without using the Jack toolchain. They can further upgrade the existing projects to Java 8 by updating their source and target compatibility level.

Supports Android Things

Android Studio 3.0 comes with better support for Android Things. The enhanced support helps developers to build robust IoT applications based on Android-based embedded operating system platform. The developers can even use the IDE to create consumer, retailer, and industrial applications for a wide variety of connected devices. The IDE further makes it easier for developers to build applications for Android Things platform by including several new templates in the New Project and New Module wizards.

Comes with Updated IntelliJ Platform

The latest version of the IDE supports IntelliJ 2017.1 natively. The support enables developers to build robust Android apps by availing several new features – Java 8 language refactoring, semantic highlighting, parameter hints, and improved version control search. Also, the developers can use IntelliJ 2017.1 to avail write better Android apps in Kotlin by availing language features like semantic highlighting, TODO highlighting, type hints and parameter names. Android Studio 3.0 makes it easier for programmers to keep the source code of Android apps readable and maintainable by including IntelliJ 2017.1.

Facilitates Android Instant App Development

In 2017, Google allowed developers to launch lightweight versions of Android apps – Android Instant Apps. The users can even access the Android Instant Apps seamlessly without installing them on their mobile devices. Android Studio 3.0 comes with a number of features to simplify Android Instant App development. The developers can use the IDE to add Instant App features to various projects without putting extra time and effort. They can even use the IDE to build and publish Android Instant App quickly and efficiently.

Uses Maven Repository instead of Android SDK Manager

Android Studio 3.0 does not use Android SDK Manager by default to facilitate SDK tools download and update. Instead it allows developers to download and update SDK tools through Google’s Maven Repository. The developers can even Maven to download the latest version of several widely used Android libraries – Android Support, Android Test Support, Android Wear, Android Instant App, and Google Play Services. Maven further enables developers to download and update various Android libraries more quickly.

Facilitates Android App Testing and Debugging

Android Studio 3.0 comes with several new features to simplify mobile app testing and debugging of Android apps. Google has included updated emulator system images for Android Oreo in the IDE. The developers can use the emulator system images perform end-to-end testing and update various services directly through Google Play. The IDE further comes with an updated Android Emulator that supports OpenGL ES 3.0 and enables developers to document bugs by generating bug report. It even speeds up Android Emulator booting by including a feature called Quick Boot. At the same time, Android Studio 3.0 accelerated app code debugging by providing new features like device file explorer, layout inspector and support for Android Test Orchestrator.

Comes with Improved Android Development Tools

While using Android Studio 3.0, the Android app developers can avail updated versions of Android Profiler and APK Analyzer. They can use the redesigned version of Android Profiler to resolve debug performance problems in Android apps. The updated Android Profiler allows developers to monitor CPU, memory, and network activities for the Android app running on devices or emulators. The updated version of APK Analyzer makes it easier for programmers to optimize APK size by providing enhanced features.

On the whole, Android Studio 3.0 comes with several new and improved features to accelerate mobile app development for Android Oreo. Also, it enables developers to write mobile apps for Android platform in either Java or Kotlin. However, Google has already released Android Studio 3.1 Preview with a number of new features and changes. The upcoming version of the official IDE for Android app development will come with a new DEX complier called D8, updates for Android Profiler, and updates for Lint.