SDK release notes

Google Play Instant Development SDK v1.6.0 (2018-11-05)

This release of the Google Play Instant Development SDK contains the following new features and changes.

New features

  • The instant apps CLI ia check command now supports size checking on APK set files (.apks) generated from bundletool.

Changes

  • On devices running Android 8.0 (API level 26) or higher, running an instant app whose signing key doesn't match the key from any previously-launched app on the device no longer causes a crash in Android Studio or the CLI.
  • Changed the size limition of instant apps from 4 MB to 10 MB. An app larger than 4 MB now receives a WARNING instead of an ERROR. An app larger than 10 MB continues to receive an ERROR.

Google Play Instant Development SDK v1.5.0 (2018-09-27)

This release of the Google Play Instant Development SDK contains the following new features and changes.

New features

  • The instant apps CLI ia run and ia check commands now support operating on APK set (.apks) files generated by bundletool.
  • The instant apps CLI ia check command now works with a list of APKs.
  • The instant apps CLI ia check command ensures that names of split APKs are unique within a given ZIP file.

Changes

  • When provisioning a device running Android 7.1.1 (API level 25) or lower, the CLI issues a warning only if it fails to detect a successful Google Play services check-in. When encountering this situation previously, the CLI would throw an error and not attempt to launch the instant app.
  • The instant apps CLI ia run can now successfully launch APKs generated by bundletool or APKs built using aapt2. Previously, the run operation might have appeared to time out when launching some of these APKs.
  • The --no-setup flag has been deprecated for ia run and now has no effect.
  • Properly updates older versions of Google Play services for Instant Apps, which need to be uninstalled first before installing a new version.

Google Play Instant Development SDK v1.4.0 (2018-08-28)

This release of the Google Play Instant Development SDK (formerly Instant Apps Development SDK) contains the following new features and changes.

New features

  • The instant apps CLI ia check command now supports size validation on instant apps using configuration APKs.
  • The CLI now supports running instant apps on test-keys emulator images with a recent version of Google Play services installed.
  • Improved support for command-specific help with ia help <command>.
  • Added size breakdown to ia check size errors.

Changes

  • The SDK has been renamed from "Android Instant Apps Development SDK" to "Google Play Instant Development SDK".
  • The CLI no longer throws a NullPointerException when trying to check an app with no launcher activity.
  • The CLI and Android Studio now detect unsupported devices running Android 8.0 (API level 26). Previously, these devices wouldn't launch the app.
  • The ia Bash wrapper script now works correctly when invoked in a pipeline where $TERM isn't set. The script assumes a width of 80 columns.
  • The ia check command now warns about instant apps whose minSdkVersion version is set to 20 or lower. By supporting these older SDK versions in your build, your binary's size might increase with no benefit for your instant apps.
  • The CLI now detects when your version of Google Play services is too old to run instant apps and prompts for an update on the device.
  • Instant apps launched on Android 8.0 (API level 26) and higher through the CLI or Android Studio now automatically have the android.permission.INSTANT_APP_FOREGROUND_SERVICE permission granted.

Android Instant Apps Development SDK v1.3.0 (2018-06-04)

This release of the Android Instant Apps Development SDK contains the following new features and changes.

New features

  • Android Studio 3.2 now uses a library added in SDK 1.3 to run instant apps. This unifies the logic between ia and Studio and allows you to run instant apps without URLs from Android Studio.

Android Instant Apps Development SDK v1.2.0 (2018-05-07)

This release of the Android Instant Apps Development SDK contains the following new features and changes.

New features

  • The new Instant Apps Command Line Interface, ia, allows you to launch instant apps on your development device and check them locally for common errors.
  • You can now build and launch instant apps without a URL entry point.

Changes

  • The version of Google Play Services for Instant Apps that's bundled with the SDK can now auto-update itself using the Play Store. In previous releases, that package was locked to the version bundled with the SDK.
  • Hostnames containing wildcard characters, such as "*.example.com", are now fully supported in development mode.
  • Developers can now simulate throttled app downloads in Android Lollipop, Marshmallow, and Nougat by setting the debug.aia.throttle_download_ms system property, as shown in the following example: 
    $ adb shell setprop debug.aia.throttle_download_ms 5000

Android Instant Apps Development SDK v1.1.0

This release of the Android Instant Apps Development SDK contains the following new features and changes.

New features

  • Transfer of data from Instant App to installed app.
    • On devices running Android 8.0 (API level 26) and above, the system automatically performs this transfer on app installation. On devices running Android 7.1 (API level 25) and lower, you can transfer your Instant App's storage data to your installed app by calling getInstantAppData() in your installed app.
  • You can decrease the size of your APK by using the new support for device-specific APKs. For information on setting up your build for configuration APKs, see Set up your build for configuration APKs.

Changes

  • Emulator.
    • Emulators running Play Store and the latest Google Play Services are required to test Instant Apps moving forward. For information about how to set up your emulator, see Run your instant app.