In less than a couple of weeks, the Year 2019 will end with a bang. We’re sure of that despite some bad news whether in the business or personal aspect of your life. As for Google, we’re seeing great numbers, especially with Google Play. The latter continues to grow and this year alone, it has seen more than 116 downloads of all the games and apps available. Android development and distribution are significantly faster too, thanks to different programs and features that make things easy.
One major focus is to keep users safe and maintain trust in Google Play. It hasn’t been an easy task but by hearing the feedback of customers and building tools and services, Google was able to offer numerous improvements and innovations.
The past year has been all about tremendously improving Google Play and Play Console with the goal of offering better ways for the app to discovered and monetized. The effort of the team starts with hearing the feedback and opinion of other people.
Some other highlights in modern Android development include a preview Jetpack Compose which is a modern declarative UI toolkit built. This makes app development easier with a more concise and more intuitive code. The Android Jetpack also received a number of improvements and releases from background scheduling with WorkManager.
Early versions of Jetpack CameraX library, BiometricPrompt, and encryption & security have been released as well. Android Studio 4.0’s first canary version was also released complete with tooling support for Compose. As for Android 10, it rolled out earlier than usual. It was built around three themes: with advanced machine-learning and support for 5G and foldable phones, digital wellbeing controls, and a central focus on privacy and security.
App and game distribution has been improved as well with the introduction of Android App Bundles last year. This 2019, we saw an increase in numbers and the introduction of dynamic delivery. Testing has become easier too with internal app sharing.
This year, Google Play is made safer for children and families. More games and apps are checked for appropriate content and suitable ads. Sensitive data has reduced access now resulting in 98% fewer apps no longer accessing such data. Google also made sure that bad content, repackaging, and impersonators are easily detected. Google has also started to invest in Play Academy courses to help users understand and navigate policy changes.
