Google I/O 2022 Day One recap with highlights for Android Developers

Today was a very eventful Day One at Google I/O 2022 with tons of information and developments. To help you sift through all of it, we are rounding up the top announcements and news for the day in the main topic categories, such as Android development, the Better Together initiative, and the latest from Android 13, Google Play, and the new Google Wallet.

Better Together

• Pixel Tablet: Yes, you read that right. Google has shown that it is all in and going big on Android tablets, as evidenced by the launch of Android 12L and continued improvements with Android 13. Now Google has announced the Pixel tablet, coming next year, which will include amazing new hardware and an updated operating system. This is the best time for developers to review their apps and get them ready for larger screens and Android 13.
• Wear OS: Jetpack Compose for Wear OS is now in beta, so developers can now create Wear OS apps that look beautiful with fewer lines of code needed. Additionally, Health Services is now in beta, bringing much innovation to the health and fitness developer community.
• Pixel Watch: Google announced the launch of the much awaited and leaked Google Pixel Watch, which will bring together the best of Fitbit and Wear OS. The watch is expected to drop this coming Fall.
• Health Connect: Google is partnering with Samsung to create a new platform called Health Connect. This will bring connectivity between apps so that they can share user health and fitness data across devices. The API for Android opens today via a beta available on Google Play.
• Android for Cars and Android TV OS: As the two products continue to grow and more users drive connected or tune-in, Google is introducing new features to make it easier for developers to continue building apps for cars and TVs.
• Using Voice Across Devices: Google is expanding developer access to APIs for Android Cars and Wear OS to make it for users to access apps via voice across devices with Google Assistant.

Android 13, Google Play, and more

• Android 13: Android 13 Beta 2 is available today, so developers can start getting their apps ready for the latest features, like the new notification permission, photo picker, and improved permissions for pairing with nearby devices and accessing media files.
• New Google Wallet API: The Google Waller API is being enhanced to support genetic passes and the grouping and mixing of passes together, such as when you want to group an event ticket with a voucher or coupon to use at the same event.
• Privacy Sandbox: The Privacy Sandbox for Android was announced at the beginning of the year. The first Developer Preview has been released so developers can get an early look and evaluate how to adopt the new technologies.
• Google Play: Play will include the ability to deep-link and create up to 50 custom listings, as well as allow more developers to submit content to be considered for featuring on the Play Store and more flexibility in selling subscriptions.
• Google Play SDK Index: Developers will be able to evaluate if an SDK is right for their app using this new public portal that lists over 100 of the most widely used commercial SDKs and their relevant information.

Android Development

• Jetpack Compose Beta 1.2 launched with support for more advanced use cases like downloadable fonts and more tooling support.
• Android Studio Dolphin Beta and Electric Eel Canary: The Dolphin beta includes new features and improvements for Jetpack Compose and Wear OS development. Electric Eel includes integrations with the new Google Play SDK Index and Firebase Crashlytics, plus introduces a new Live Edit feature to deploy code changes immediately.
• Baseline Profiles were introduced to allow apps to run faster right after installation and, by extension, improve user retention and provide a better end-user experience.

Day two of I/O continues tomorrow with over 26 talks and 4 workshops planned to encompass the full Android technical track at Google I/O. You can check out the full program at io.google/2022 or keep an eye on this site for our full coverage.