Android developer news and features round-up: June 2019

It might seem like June was a somewhat quiet month following all the excitement of May, but there have certainly been a few interesting developments that might have flown under your radar.

For one, Android Q Beta 4 is now available and will allow developers to fully test their apps in anticipation of the OS update. Unity features will also be available for Android developers in library form, and Android Studio will soon be dropping support for 32 bit machines.

Here at Android Authority, we’ve also been busy adding new guides for programmers and techies looking to earn a living online, as well as the usual slew of tutorials and news coverage. You can check it all out below.

Features and news from Android Authority

How to work as a software developer online: Everything you need to know – If you want to go professional with your development skills, this post will show you precisely how to do just that. Learn how much pro programmers earn, where to find work, what qualifications you need and more.

Start sharing your code: Everything you need to know about Git and GitHub – If you intend on taking your skills professional, then knowing how to handle version control via Git is likely to come in very handy. As it can do for finding sample projects and more!

Android Q Beta 4 now available, developers can start updating their apps – Android Authority’s coverage of the latest Beta 4 release of Android Q.

Android Q (Updated to Beta 4): Everything developers need to know – The full lowdown on what you need to know about Android Q as a dev.

Exploring Android Q: Adding bubble notifications to your app – This post explains how to implement one of the most interesting new features from Android Q: the bubble notification!

Futureproof your career and salary as an information security analyst – Not strictly Android, but another great way you can earn money online using tech skills.

AndroidManifest.xml: everything you need to know – Get familiar with one of the most important documents all of in Android development.

Introducing Gradle for new Android developers – The master builder – Gradle giving you headaches? Not really sure what all those files do? This post is the one for you.

News and updates from Android Developers Blog

Android Q Beta 4 and Final APIs! – The big news this month was surely the release of Android Q Beta 4. The Beta 4 update brings with it all the promised APIs and everything you need to ensure your app is ready for the next generation of Android. It also includes some new features, such as “screen attention,” new accent colors, and a new WiFi icon. As of now, Google Play is also open to publishing apps targeting API 29.

Moving Android Studio and Android Emulator to 64-bit versions – From now on, 32-bit operating systems will no longer be supported by Android Studio. If you’re using older hardware, then it’s time to prepare!

Improved app quality and discovery on Google Play – Heed this advice from Google to improve your app quality, and thus make it more discoverable.

Google Play services and Firebase migrating to AndroidX – Two very powerful tools for Android devs are moving from the Android Support libraries to AndroidX. If your app uses relevant libraries, be ready for the exodus!

Advanced in-app billing: handling alternative purchase flows – This post from Google explains some best practices for selling pro app features and in-game items through Google Play.

Features and projects from around the web

Google releases Android Q Beta 4 – Another summary of the new Android Q version from 9to5Google.com.

Add features powered by Unity to native mobile apps – As of Unity 2019.3, you’ll be able to use Unity as a library in your native Android or iOS projects! This has potential to be extremely interesting for Android devs!

How to Build a Simple Basic Calculator App in Flutter – A very simple little tutorial that can help you get to grips with Flutter.

Android Paging Library with multiple view types – A useful tutorial for elegant UIs.

Burnout – An honest and open discussion on something that many of us experience as coders, but few of us talk about.

How I become top-rated Upwork Android freelancer and earned first $2000 – Another personal account, this time discussing the process of working as an Android freelancer through Upwork.