Google announces tools for Android devs: new Kotlin language release, more ways to get users to update apps quickly, and Android Studio IDE headed to Chrome OS
At its Android Dev Summit, Google today announced a number of new tools and features for developers that write apps for its mobile operating system.
Context & Ripple Effects
This Dev Summit announcement is the next step in a toolchain push Google has been running since it made Kotlin a first-class Android language in May 2017 and shipped Kotlin support inside the Android Studio 3.0 preview the same day. The IDE itself has been on a rapid cadence since — 3.2 landed just weeks before this summit with the App Bundle and Energy Profiler.
First-order effects
- Android developers get a new Kotlin release plus APIs for nudging users onto updated app versions faster, attacking the old-version fragmentation that forces them to maintain backward compatibility.
- Developers who work on Chromebooks gain a native path to Android development as Android Studio heads to Chrome OS.
Second-order effects
- Faster user uptake of app updates lets developers drop legacy Android version support sooner, shrinking the device matrix they test against and raising the baseline for what apps require.
- Chrome OS gains a developer audience beyond consumers and education, giving Google another reason to keep investing in high-end x86 Chromebooks — a direction the later Android Studio 3.5 beta's Chromebook support confirms.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Google keeps consolidating every layer of Android development under its own control — language, IDE, update mechanics — reducing reliance on third-party tooling and standardizing how quickly the installed base tracks current releases.
The trend: Google is steadily pulling the entire Android developer stack in-house, from making Kotlin first-class to running the IDE on its own Chrome OS hardware.