Android Studio 2.2

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By Jamal Eason, Product
Manager, Android

Android Studio 2.2 is available to download today.
Previewed at Google I/O 2016, Android Studio 2.2 is the latest release of our
IDE used by millions of Android developers around the world.

Packed with enhancements, this release has three major themes: speed, smarts,
and Android platform support. Develop faster with features such as the new
Layout Editor, which makes creating an app user interface quick and intuitive.
Develop smarter with our new APK analyzer, enhanced Layout Inspector, expanded
code analysis, IntelliJ’s 2016.1.3 features and much more. Lastly, as the
official IDE for Android app development, Android Studio 2.2 includes support
for all the latest developer features in Android 7.0 Nougat, like code
completion
to help you add Android platform features like Multi-Window
support
, Quick
Settings API
, or the redesigned Notifications,
and of course, the built-in Android
Emulator
to test them all out.

In this release, we evolved the Android Frameworks and the IDE together to
create the Constraint Layout. This powerful new layout manager helps you design
large and complex layouts in a flat and streamlined hierarchy. The
ConstraintLayout integrates into your app like a standard Android
support library, and was built in parallel with the new Layout Editor.

Android Studio 2.2 includes 20+ new features across every major phase of the
development process: design, develop, build, & test. From designing UIs with
the new ConstraintLayout, to developing C++ code with the Android
NDK, to building with the latest Jack compliers, to creating Espresso test cases
for your app, Android Studio 2.2 is the update you do not want to miss. Here’s
more detail on some of the top highlights:

Design

  • Layout Editor: Creating Android app user interfaces is now
    easier with the new user interface designer. Quickly construct the structure of
    your app UI with the new blueprint mode and adjust the visual attributes of each
    widget with new properties panel. Learn
    more
    .

Layout Editor

  • Constraint Layout: This new layout is a flexible layout
    manager for your app that allows you to create dynamic user interfaces without
    nesting multiple layouts. It is backwards compatible all the way back to Android
    API level 9 (Gingerbread). ConstraintLayout works best with the new Layout
    Editor in Android Studio 2.2. Learn
    more
    .

ConstraintLayout

Develop

  • Improved C++ Support: You can now use CMake
    or ndk-build
    to compile your C++ projects from Gradle. Migrating projects
    from CMake build systems to Android Studio is now seamless. You will also find
    C++ support in the new project wizard in Android Studio, plus a number of bug
    fixes to the C++ edit and debug experience. Learn
    more
    .

C++ Code Editing & CMake Support

  • Samples Browser: Referencing Android sample code
    is now even easier with Android Studio 2.2. Within the code editor window, find
    occurrences of your app code in Google Android sample code to help jump start
    your app development. Learn more.

Sample Code Menu

Build

  • Instant Run Improvements: Introduced in Android Studio 2.0,
    Instant
    Run
    is our major, long-term investment to make Android development as fast
    and lightweight. Since launch, it has significantly improved the edit, build,
    run iteration cycles for many developers. In this release, we have made many
    stability and reliability improvements to Instant Run. If you have previously
    disabled Instant Run, we encourage you to re-enable it and let us know if you
    come across further issues. (Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Instant
    Run [Windows/Linux] , Preferences → Build, Execution, Deployment → Instant Run
    [OS X]). For details on the fixes that we have made, see the Android Studio
    2.2 release notes
    .

Enable Instant Run

  • APK Analyzer: Easily inspect the contents of your APKs to
    understand the size contribution of each component. This feature can be helpful
    when debugging multi-dex
    issues. Plus, with the APK Analyzer you can compare two versions of an APK. Learn
    more
    .

APK Analyzer

  • Build cache (Experimental): We are continuing our
    investments to improve build speeds with the introduction of a new experimental
    build cache that will help reduce both full and incremental build times. Just
    add android.enableBuildCache=true to your
    gradle.properties file. Learn more.

Build Cache Setting

Test

  • Virtual Sensors in the Android Emulator: The Android
    Emulator now includes a new set of virtual sensors controls. With the new UI
    controls, you can now test Android
    Sensors
    such as Accelerometer, Ambient Temperature, Magnetometer and more.
    Learn
    more
    .

Android Emulator Virtual Sensors

  • Espresso Test Recorder (Beta): The Espresso Test Recorder
    lets you easily create UI tests by recording interactions with your app; it then
    outputs the UI
    test code
    for you. You record your interactions with a device and add
    assertions to verify UI elements in particular snapshots of your app. Espresso
    Test Recorder then takes the saved recording and automatically generates a
    corresponding UI test. You can run the test locally, on your continuous
    integration server, or using Firebase
    Test Lab for Android
    . Learn
    more
    .

Espresso Test Recorder

  • GPU Debugger (Beta): The GPU Debugger is now in Beta. You
    can now capture a stream of OpenGL ES commands on your Android device and then
    replay it from inside Android Studio for analysis. You can also fully inspect
    the GPU state of any given OpenGL ES command to better understand and debug your
    graphical output. Lean
    more
    .


GPU Debugger

To recap, Android Studio 2.2 includes these major features and more:

Design

Develop

Build

Test

Learn more about Android Studio 2.2 by reviewing the release notes
and the preview
blog post
.

Getting Started

Download

If you are using a previous version of Android Studio, you can check for updates
on the Stable channel from the navigation menu (Help → Check for Update
[Windows/Linux] , Android Studio → Check for Updates [OS X]). You can also
download Android Studio 2.2 from the official download page. To
take advantage of all the new features and improvements in Android Studio, you
should also update to the Android Gradle plugin version to 2.2.0 in your current
app project.

Next Release

We would like to thank all of you in the Android Developer community for your
work on this release. We are grateful for your contributions, your ongoing
feedback which inspired the new features in this release, and your highly active
use on canary and beta builds filing bugs. We all wanted to make Android Studio
2.2 our best release yet, with many stability and performance fixes in addition
to the many new features. For our next release, look for even more; we want to
work hard to address feedback and keep driving up quality and stability on
existing features to make you productive.

We appreciate any feedback on things you like, issues or features you would like
to see. Connect with us — the Android Studio development team — on our Google+ page or on Twitter.


What’s New in Android Studio 2.2