Android Studio Narwhal 3 Feature Drop | 2025.1.3

Android Studio is the official IDE for Android development, and includes everything you need to build Android apps.

This page lists new features and improvements in the latest version in the stable channel, Android Studio Narwhal 3 Feature Drop. You can download it here or update to it inside Android Studio by clicking Help > Check for updates (Android Studio > Check for updates on macOS)

This is a stable release of Android Studio. Note that patches might contain new minor features and bug fixes. See Android Studio release names to understand Android Studio version naming.

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

To view the release notes for older versions of Android Studio, see Past releases.

For early access to upcoming features and improvements, see the Preview builds of Android Studio.

If you encounter problems in Android Studio, check the Known issues or Troubleshoot page.

Android Gradle plugin and Android Studio compatibility

The Android Studio build system is based on Gradle, and the Android Gradle plugin (AGP) adds several features that are specific to building Android apps. The following table lists which version of AGP is required for each version of Android Studio.

Android Studio version	Required AGP version
Narwhal 3 Feature Drop | 2025.1.3	4.0-8.13
Narwhal Feature Drop | 2025.1.2	4.0-8.12
Narwhal | 2025.1.1	3.2-8.11
Meerkat Feature Drop | 2024.3.2	3.2-8.10
Meerkat | 2024.3.1	3.2-8.9
Ladybug Feature Drop | 2024.2.2	3.2-8.8
Ladybug | 2024.2.1	3.2-8.7
Koala Feature Drop | 2024.1.2	3.2-8.6
Koala | 2024.1.1	3.2-8.5
Jellyfish | 2023.3.1	3.2-8.4
Iguana | 2023.2.1	3.2-8.3
Hedgehog | 2023.1.1	3.2-8.2
Giraffe | 2022.3.1	3.2-8.1
Flamingo | 2022.2.1	3.2-8.0

For information on what’s new in the Android Gradle plugin, see the Android Gradle plugin release notes.

Minimum versions of tools for Android API level

There are minimum versions of Android Studio and AGP that support a specific API level. Using lower versions of Android Studio or AGP than required by your project's targetSdk or compileSdk could lead to unexpected issues. We recommend using the latest preview version of Android Studio and AGP to work on projects that target preview versions of the Android OS. You can install preview versions of Android Studio alongside a stable version.

The minimum versions of Android Studio and AGP are as follows:

API level	Minimum Android Studio version	Minimum AGP version
36.0	Meerkat | 2024.3.1 Patch 1	8.9.1
35	Koala Feature Drop | 2024.2.1	8.6.0
34	Hedgehog | 2023.1.1	8.1.1
33	Flamingo | 2022.2.1	7.2

Android Studio and Cloud services compatibility

Android Studio includes service integrations that help you and your team make faster progress as you develop, release, and maintain Android apps. This includes Cloud services such as Gemini in Android Studio, Play Vitals, and Firebase Crashlytics. Cloud services are only available on the latest stable channel version of Android Studio, the three most recent previous major versions, and patches associated with those versions. When a version falls outside of that compatibility window, service integrations become disabled and you are required to update Android Studio.

Android Studio versions that are currently compatible with Cloud services

As of the stable channel release of Android Studio Meerkat Feature Drop, all versions of Studio are compatible with Cloud services. Enforcement will begin with Android Studio Narwhal Feature Drop.

Studio Labs

Studio Labs lets you try out the latest AI experimental features in a stable version of Android Studio, so you can more quickly integrate our AI assistance offerings in your development workflow. For more information, see Studio Labs.

The following are features currently available in Studio Labs.

Feature	Description	Docs
Compose preview generation	Gemini can automatically generate Compose previews, including mock data for preview parameters, for a specific composable or all composables in a file.	Generate Compose previews
Transform UI	Use natural language to update your app UI directly from the Compose preview panel.	Transform UI

The following are new features in Android Studio Narwhal 3 Feature Drop.

Resizable Compose previews

Compose Preview now supports dynamic resizing to give you instant visual feedback on how your UI adapts to different screen sizes.

To use the feature, enter Focus mode in Compose Preview by changing the view option on the toolbar:

You can now resize the preview window by dragging its edges:

Or, you can use the resize toolbar, which is shown after the preview has been resized:

If you want to save the new size as a new Preview annotation, use the right-click menu:

The dynamic resize feature helps you create UIs that look great on any screen size.

Android view setting to display build files under corresponding modules

There is a new setting to display build files under their corresponding module in the Android view. This view can be helpful when you work on projects with many modules. To enable the view open the Options menu available next to the Android view. Then select Appearance > Display Build Files In Module.

Play Policy Insights in Android Studio

Android Studio now includes richer insights and guidance on Google Play policies that may impact your app. This information helps you build safer apps from the start, preventing issues that could disrupt your launch process and cost more time and resources to fix later on.

Starting with Android Studio Narwhal 3 Feature Drop, you can see Play Policy Insights as lint checks. These lint checks will present the following information:

• An overview of the policy.
• Dos and don'ts to avoid common pitfalls.
• Links to Play policy pages where you can find the full formal policy and more helpful information and resources.

This feature is intended to provide helpful pre-review guidance so you can have smoother app submission experiences. It does not cover every policy, nor does it provide final app review decisions. Always review the full policy in the Policy Center for guidance. We are also actively evolving and improving this integration. If you have any feedback, please report it.

To see if there are any Play Policy Insights for your project, go to Code > Inspect for Play Policy Insights… Insights will be listed in the 'Problems' tool window and they will also appear as Lint warnings in the corresponding files.

Test and develop with app backup and restore

Ensuring Android Backup and Restore works properly for your app is a critical aspect of ensuring users stay engaged with your app after switching to a new device or restoring from the cloud. However, testing whether data backup and restore is working for your app can be difficult.

Android Studio Narwhal 3 Feature Drop provides ways for you to generate a backup for your app and restore it to another device. This can be useful for testing whether your app behaves as expected when restoring app data from device to device or from a cloud backup, or if you want a faster way to set up a test device with data you need to develop and debug your app.

Generate a backup

To generate a backup file, do the following:

1. Deploy a debug version of your app to a connected device
2. Use one of the following actions to generate a backup:
   • From the Running Device window, click the Backup App Data action from the toolbar
   • Select Run > Backup App Data from the main menu bar
   • From the Device Explorer > Processes tab, right-click on the app process and select Backup App Data
3. In the dialog that appears, do the following:
   • Confirm the application ID for the app you want to generate a backup for
     • Select whether you want to generate a Device to Device, Cloud, or Cloud (Unencrypted) backup
   • Confirm the name and location of the backup you want to save. By default, the backup is saved to the root directory of the current Android Studio project.

     

4. Click Ok when Android Studio asks if it can stop the app. To generate the backup, Android Studio must stop the app process.

You can view the backups that you generate in the Project > Android tool window under the Backup Files node.

Backup types

You can generate different types of backup for your app. When generating a backup, select the backup type that relates to the scenario you want to test:

• Device-to-device: Generates a backup of your app, similar to one created during device-to-device transfer. In device-to-device transfers the app's backup data is sent directly to another device, for example over USB or Wi-Fi.
• Cloud: Generates a backup of your app, similar to one saved to the user's Google Account storage. When a user sets up a new device, they can choose to restore from a Cloud backup.
• Cloud (unencrypted): Generates a backup of your app, similar to one saved to the user's Google Account storage on a device which does not have client side encryption enabled.

Note: When using the feature to test Cloud, Cloud (Unencrypted) or Device to Device backups, the generated backup is not sent to Cloud or to another device, unlike actual backup flow. It generates the backup of your app as if it was going to be saved to Cloud or to be sent to another device. The backups generated for any Backup type can be under Backup Files in Project > Android tool window.

Restore app data

To restore app data, do the following:

1. Deploy your app to the connected device. The app should have the same application ID as the backup file you want to restore onto the device.
2. Navigate to and click one of the following actions:
   • From the Running Device window, click the Restore App Data action from the toolbar, and either select a backup file from the recent history or click Browse.
   • Navigate to Run > Restore App Data from the main menu bar.
   • From the Device Explorer > Processes tab, right-click on the app process and select Restore App Data.
   • From the Project > Android tool window, right-click on a backup under the Backup Files node and select Restore App Data.
3. If applicable, either select a backup from the recent history or click Browse to select a backup file to restore from local storage.

Alternatively, you can include a backup file as part of a run configuration, so that deploying your app also restores the app data from a backup file. To do this, do the following:

1. Navigate to Run > Edit Configurations from the main menu bar.
2. Select an app run configuration and navigate to Restore options.

   

3. To restore an app from a backup, check the box next to Restore app state.
4. Either select a backup file from recent history or browse and select the backup file from local storage.
5. If you only want to restore app data on a fresh app installation, check the box next to Only restore on fresh apk installation. This option can be helpful if you are deploying to a new test device and want to restore data to aid in debugging and app development.
6. Click OK to save the run configuration.
7. Deploy your app using the run configuration to test restoring your app data to a connected device.

Proguard inspections

Android Studio now includes inspections to prevent poorly crafted Proguard rules, or rules that prevent R8 optimizations. Overly broad keep rules such as -keep class **.* and consumer Proguard rule configurations such as dontshrink and -dontoptimize trigger a warning now in the Studio IDE. To craft a good keep rule that allows for code shrinking, scope the rule to a specific package and be explicit about what you want to keep.

AGENT.md files for project-level context

You can now include AGENT.md files in your project. These are Markdown files that provide project-specific instructions, coding style rules, and other guidance to Gemini as context.

Gemini automatically discovers and applies instructions from any file named AGENT.md in your project. If an AGENT.md file is not present, Gemini instead looks for a GEMINI.md file as a fallback.

New setting to disable Automatic Sync

Android Studio now offers a setting to switch from the default Automatic Sync mode (e.g. Sync runs automatically when a project is opened) to a new Manual Sync mode with reminders. The default behavior is still Automatic Sync. To switch to Manual Sync go to File (Android Studio on macOS) > Settings > Build, Execution, Deployment > Build Tools and set Project Sync mode to Manual Sync with reminders as the Project Sync mode.

Image attachment in Gemini

You can now attach image files and provide additional information along with your prompt. For example: you can attach UI mock-ups or screenshots to tell Gemini context about your app's layout. Consequently, Gemini can generate Compose code based on a provided image, or explain the composables and data flow of a UI screenshot. To learn more, see Attach an image to your query.

@File context in Gemini

You can now attach your project files as context in chat interactions with Gemini in Android Studio. This lets you quickly reference files in your prompts for Gemini. In the Gemini chat input, type @ to bring up a file completion menu and select files to attach. You can also click the Context drop-down to see which files were automatically attached by Gemini. This gives you more control over the context sent to Gemini. To learn more, see Attach a file to your query.