Saturday, 17 October 2026

Five things that changed in Android on 17 Oct.

2 min read

1. Google opens its developer docs to AI coding assistants
Your coding agent can now check current Android docs before it writes code, which should cut outdated API suggestions.
Google launched the Developer Knowledge API and an MCP server in public preview. MCP is the common way coding agents call outside tools. Together they let assistants search and fetch current official documentation for Android, Firebase, Google Cloud and other Google products, in a format machines can read, instead of guessing from what they learned during training.
Google Developers Blog · OfficialRead the source
2. Compose Material3 1.5 reaches beta
If you use carousels, sliders or custom shapes, test the beta now so the stable update does not surprise you.
alphabetarelease candidatestable1.5.0
The details
Material3 for Jetpack Compose, the library behind Material Design components, moved version 1.5 to beta. The changes are mostly API clean-up before stable: a carousel parameter is renamed, the polygon shape APIs are reworked, and some older slider and app bar overloads are restored so code written for version 1.4 keeps working.
AndroidX releases · OfficialRead the source
3. JetBrains suggests Kotlin Toolchain for new multiplatform apps
Starting a new shared Kotlin app may soon need far less build configuration than today.
The details
JetBrains released version 0.13 of the Kotlin Toolchain, a single tool that builds JVM, Android, iOS, multiplatform and server apps from a short declarative configuration. With this release, JetBrains recommends it for most new Kotlin Multiplatform projects, as a simpler starting point than a hand-written Gradle setup.
Kotlin blog · OfficialRead the source
4. Report says Google links your phone number to every signed-in account
It is a reminder to check default account settings on test and personal devices that hold several Google accounts.
The details
Android Authority reports that Android verifies a phone number and links it to every Google account signed in on the device, through a setting that is on by default. Users noticed after receiving verification emails. The setting can be turned off in Google settings under privacy and security, but numbers already linked must be removed from each account by hand. Google had not commented.
HN · Android · CommunityRead the source
5. Compose gets progressive blur, so do you still need Haze?
You may be able to drop a dependency for simple blur effects and keep Haze only for frosted glass.
The details
Chris Banes, who maintains the Haze blur library, explains Compose's new progressive blur API. It blurs a composable's own content, which is different from Haze's backdrop effect that blurs what sits behind a surface. He also covers how both relate to Android's new native backdrop API, which helps decide when the built-in blur is enough.
Chris Banes · ExpertRead the source