New features in Android Studio Preview

This page lists the new features introduced in Android Studio preview releases. The preview builds provide early access to the latest features and improvements in Android Studio. You can download these preview versions here. If you encounter any problems using a preview version of Android Studio, please let us know. Your bug reports help to make Android Studio better.

For the latest news on Android Studio preview releases, including a list of notable fixes in each preview release, see the Release Updates in the Android Studio blog.

Current versions of Android Studio

The following table lists the current versions of Android Studio and their respective channels.

Version Channel
Android Studio Ladybug | 2024.2.1 Stable
Android Gradle plugin 8.7.0 Stable
Android Studio Ladybug Feature Drop | 2024.2.2 Beta
Android Studio Meerkat | 2024.3.1 Canary

Compatibility with Android Gradle plugin previews

Each preview version of Android Studio is published alongside a corresponding version of the Android Gradle plugin (AGP). Preview versions of Studio should work with any compatible stable version of AGP. However, if you're using a preview version of AGP, you must use the corresponding preview version of Studio (for example, Android Studio Chipmunk Canary 7 with AGP 7.2.0-alpha07). Attempts to use divergent versions (for example, Android Studio Chipmunk Beta 1 with AGP 7.2.0-alpha07) will cause a Sync failure, which results in a prompt to update to the corresponding version of AGP.

For a detailed log of Android Gradle plugin API deprecations and removals, see the Android Gradle plugin API updates.

Android Studio Ladybug Feature Drop | 2024.2.2

The following are new features in Android Studio Ladybug Feature Drop | 2024.2.2. To see what's been fixed in this version of Android Studio, see the closed issues.

Generate previews of composables using Gemini

Composable previews help you visualize your composables during design time in Android Studio. To make it easier for you to include mock data as preview parameters, Android Studio now supports an experimental feature: Compose preview generation with Gemini.

To access this tool, right-click any composable and navigate to Gemini > Generate "<Composable Name>" Preview or Generate Compose Preview for this file.

While Gemini's generated code may not be perfect every time, it helps provide a valuable starting point to accelerate your development workflow.

Your feedback is crucial in helping us enhance accuracy and make this integration an even more powerful asset for Android developers.

Gemini appears about halfway down the right-click menu. Generate Preview appears near the bottom of the 2nd-level menu.
Gemini can generate Compose Preview for your Composables

Wear Tiles Animation Preview

Android Studio Ladybug Canary 2+ now supports Wear Tile Animation Previews, making it easier than ever to inspect and debug your tile animations directly within the IDE. This feature builds upon the Wear Tiles Preview support introduced in Android Studio Koala.

To get started:

  1. Update to Android Studio Ladybug Canary 2 or higher.
  2. Add tiles and tooling libraries:
    1. Add the dependencies to your app-level build.gradle.kts file: 
            # Required for the previews
      debugImplementation(libs.androidx.tiles.tooling)
      implementation(libs.androidx.tiles.tooling.preview)
      # Dependencies needed to build the tiles
      implementation(libs.androidx.tiles)
      implementation(libs.androidx.protolayout)
      implementation(libs.androidx.protolayout.material)
    2. libs.versions.toml file: 
          [versions]
    tiles = "1.5.0-alpha01"
    protolayout = "1.3.0-alpha01"
    [libraries]
    androidx-tiles-tooling = { group = "androidx.wear.tiles", name = "tiles-tooling", version.ref = "tiles" }
    androidx-tiles-tooling-preview = { group = "androidx.wear.tiles", name = "tiles-tooling-preview", version.ref = "tiles" }
    androidx-tiles = { group = "androidx.wear.tiles", name = "tiles", version.ref = "tiles" }
    androidx-protolayout = { group = "androidx.wear.protolayout", name = "protolayout-proto", version.ref = "protolayout" }
    androidx-protolayout-material= { group = "androidx.wear.protolayout", name = "protolayout-material", version.ref = "protolayout" }
    androidx-protolayout-expression= { group = "androidx.wear.protolayout", name = "protolayout-expression", version.ref = "protolayout" }
  3. Set up Previews for your Tiles Services. Refer to the tiles preview guide for detailed instructions. If your tiles include animations, the Animation Preview will automatically appear, allowing you to inspect and debug them.

This enhancement streamlines your Wear Tile development workflow by providing a visual and interactive way to fine-tune your tile animations within Android Studio.

Motion Editor deprecation

In the upcoming release, we will be deprecating the Motion Editor as part of our ongoing transition from XML to Jetpack Compose. Compose offers a more modern and efficient approach to building animations, and we encourage developers to start using Compose Animation Preview for new projects.

New Gemini in Android Studio features

Android Studio Ladybug Feature Drop introduces a number of new Code Editor features that use Gemini to help you be more productive. To use these features, enable sharing code context with Gemini in your current project.

Use the following links to learn more about these features:

Google Play SDK Index integration

The Android Studio Google Play SDK Index integration now includes warnings from the Google Play SDK Console. This gives you a complete view of any potential version or policy issues in your dependencies before submitting your app to the Google Play Console.

Android Studio now also displays notes from SDK authors directly in the editor to save you time. When a recommended version or version range is available, Android Studio will also include a quick fix:

Android Studio also displays warnings when a specific SDK version has known security vulnerabilities. This information helps you discover and address these issues during app development so you can follow best practices.

Mock sensor capabilities and values

Android Studio now includes a new sensor panel, which lets you simulate a device having or not having specific sensor capabilities, such as a heart rate sensor, as well as set specific test values for these sensors. Use this panel to test how your app handles devices that have different sensor capabilities. This panel is useful for testing health and fitness apps, especially on Wear OS devices.

Button is near the middle of the panel row
The Wear Health Services panel, available in the emulator.

To open and use the panel, do the following:

  1. Create or open an Android Virtual Device (AVD) and run your app on the emulator.
  2. In the emulator panel, select Wear Health Services. Open Wear Health Services panel The Wear Health Services panel opens, showing a list of sensors that are available on different Android-powered devices.

After the panel opens, you can do the following:

  • Toggle among Standard capabilities, All capabilities (default), or Custom. Select Apply to send the current list of capabilities to the emulated device, and select Reset to restore the list of capabilities to their default on-off values.
  • Trigger different user events after you select the Trigger events drop-down button. From here, you can Trigger auto pause/resume of fitness activities, Trigger sleep events by the user, and Trigger golf shots that the user takes on a golf course or mini-golf course.
  • Override sensor values, after you begin an exercise in an app that's installed on the emulator. After you enter new values for different exercise metrics, select Apply to sync these values with the emulator. This is useful for testing how your app handles different exercise conditions and users' fitness tendencies.

Compose Preview Screenshot Testing tool

Use the Compose Preview Screenshot Testing tool to test your Compose UIs and prevent regressions. The new tool helps you generate HTML reports that let you visually detect any changes to your app's UI. Learn more at Compose Preview Screenshot Testing.

Updated UX for adding virtual and remote devices to Device Manager

Android Studio improves the UX when creating a local virtual device or adding a device from Android Device Streaming.

To get started, click the + button from the Device Manager, and select either Create Virtual Device or Select Remote Devices.

When creating a new virtual device, new filters and recommendations make it easier to create a device configuration that fits your needs and performs the best on your workstation.

Identify and select the optimal system image for your virtual device using the UI.

Similarly, when selecting remote devices from Android Device Streaming, new filters make it easier to find and select the devices you need. You now only need to click the Firebase button at the top of the Device Manager window to select the Firebase project you want to use for Android Device Streaming.

Android Studio Meerkat | 2024.3.1

This canary release is Android Studio Meerkat | 2024.3.1.

To see what's been fixed in this version of Android Studio, see the closed issues.