Developer Preview and Play Services 5
Article Summary
Jamal Eason just announced something unprecedented: Android's first-ever public developer preview before launch. Google is opening up the L release early, fundamentally changing how developers prepare for major platform updates.
At Google I/O 2014, the Android team unveiled the L Developer Preview alongside Google Play Services 5.0. This marks a strategic shift in how Google works with developers, giving early access to test new features across phones, tablets, wearables, TV, and auto platforms before public release.
Key Takeaways
- Material design introduces new visual language across all Android form factors
- Project Volta adds Battery Historian tool and job scheduler API for power efficiency
- Android Runtime (ART) becomes default, improving performance through ahead-of-time compilation
- 64-bit support arrives with updated NDK for native code developers
- Google Play Services 5.0 adds wearable sync, game quests, and app indexing
Android L Developer Preview gives developers unprecedented early access to test material design, performance improvements, and multi-device capabilities before the public launch.
About This Article
Android developers struggled to understand how their apps used battery power. They needed visibility into what was draining the battery across different system events and conditions.
Google built Battery Historian, a visualization tool that shows power events over time. They also released a job scheduler API that lets developers set conditions for background tasks, like running only when the device is idle or charging.
With the job scheduler API, developers can control when background jobs run. This reduces battery drain and improves device efficiency without requiring changes to existing code.