Sunday, 25 October 2026

Five things that changed in Android on 25 Oct.

2 min read

1. Android will stop apps writing contacts directly
If your app saves or edits contacts, you need to move to the editor intents or apply for the new special access before the next target SDK bump.
Google announced that apps targeting the 2027 Android release can no longer write to contacts with the WRITE_CONTACTS permission. Those writes will be rejected. Instead, apps should open the system contact editor through the standard insert and edit intents, which need no permission and are being made consistent across devices. Apps whose whole purpose is managing contacts get a new special access called MANAGE_CONTACTS, arriving in Android 17 QPR2.
Android Developers Blog · OfficialRead the source
2. OkHttp patches block compromised eMudhra certificates
If you ship to set-top boxes, kiosks or other devices without Play Services, update OkHttp now.
alphabetarelease candidatestable5.5.1
The details
OkHttp, the HTTP client most Android apps use, shipped versions 5.5.1 and 4.12.1. The 5.5.1 notes say it blocks eight compromised eMudhra intermediate certificates. Phones with Google Play Services already received an automatic fix, so this update is for AOSP devices and JVM backends. The same week, Lobsters reported Indian government sites serving revoked eMudhra certificates.
OkHttp releases · LibraryRead the source
3. Android XR libraries reach 1.0 stable
Android XR now has a stable first-party API, so the platform is ready for production apps rather than experiments.
alphabetarelease candidatestable1.0.0
The details
Three Jetpack libraries for Android XR went stable at version 1.0.0: SceneCore for spatial scenes, Runtime for the session layer, and ARCore for Jetpack XR for perception. Until now, building for Android XR headsets and glasses meant depending on alpha and beta artifacts that changed often. A stable base means apps can ship without chasing API churn.
AndroidX releases · OfficialRead the source
4. Haze 2.0 adds Glass and native backdrop support
If you use Haze, 2.0 is a major version to plan for, and the companion post tells you whether Compose's built-in blur now covers your case.
The details
Chris Banes released Haze 2.0, the blur library for Jetpack Compose and Compose Multiplatform. It adds Glass, a new effects API, performance improvements and experimental support for Android's native backdrop. In a companion post he explains how Haze relates to Compose's new progressive blur, which blurs a composable's own content, and when you still need Haze.
Chris Banes · ExpertRead the source
5. AppFunctions reaches beta on AndroidX
The way assistants will call into Android apps is firming up, so now is the time to try exposing a function or two.
alphabetarelease candidatestable1.0.0
The details
AppFunctions, the Jetpack library that lets AI assistants call functions inside your app, published its first beta, version 1.0.0-beta01. A beta means the API shape is settling and breaking changes should be rare. Android Weekly leads this week with an explainer on the same API, and A2UI, the library for rendering agent-generated Compose UI, moved to its second alpha.
AndroidX releases · OfficialRead the source