Saturday, 31 October 2026

Five things that changed in Android on 31 Oct.

2 min read

1. Next Android release ends direct contact writes for new apps
If your app adds or edits contacts, raising your target SDK will break that code unless you move to the new approach first.
Google's Android Developers Blog says apps that target the upcoming Android release will no longer be able to write to contacts directly with the WRITE_CONTACTS permission. The post, titled a more reliable way to add and edit contacts, describes the path apps should use instead. Apps that create, import or sync contacts need to move before they raise their target SDK.
Android Developers Blog · OfficialRead the source
2. Android 17 reaches about one percent of devices after four months
Features built only for Android 17 will reach almost no users this year, so plan fallbacks for older versions.
The details
Google has updated its Android distribution numbers, 9to5Google reports. Android 17, this year's release, runs on about one percent of devices four months after launch. Android 16 now makes up the biggest share, at over 25 percent. These are the numbers most teams use to decide which Android versions to support.
9to5Google · Android · EcosystemRead the source
3. Kotlin 2.5.0 reaches its second beta
A second beta is the time to try Kotlin 2.5 on your project and report compiler problems before the stable release.
The details
JetBrains' latest Kotlin roundup says Kotlin 2.5.0 is taking shape with its second beta. The same post names the Shipaton 2026 winners, where three Kotlin Multiplatform apps, which share code across Android, iOS and other platforms, took the Ship Kotlin Everywhere Award. It also shares where KotlinConf 2027 will be held.
Kotlin blog · OfficialRead the source
4. Android Auto video apps are still coming soon, Google says
If you planned a car version of a video or browser app, keep it on the roadmap but do not promise users a date yet.
The details
At its latest developer conference, Google said in a brief update that video and browser apps for Android Auto, the system that puts phone apps on a car screen, are still coming soon. 9to5Google notes that Google's own deadline for them is close. Developers of streaming or browser apps still have no firm date for car support.
9to5Google · Android · EcosystemRead the source
5. How to stop flaky Turbine tests for Kotlin Flows
Most Android apps expose state as Flows, so reliable Flow tests protect the code users see most.
The details
Kevin Schildhorn at Touchlab published part two of his series on hardening tests. This part covers Turbine, a small library for testing Kotlin Flows, which are streams of values that arrive over time. Flow tests are confusing to write and often flaky, and the post explains how to avoid that flakiness when you test with Turbine.
Touchlab (Kotlin Multiplatform) · ExpertRead the source