Sunday, 1 November 2026

Five things that changed in Android on 1 Nov.

2 min read

1. New Jetpack Appstate libraries bring Compose state beyond the UI
Compose's state model is moving past screens, which could change how you write ViewModels and app-wide state.
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Google released the first alphas of two new Jetpack libraries on October 28. Appstate Statestore lets apps move snapshot state, the observable state Jetpack Compose uses, into the app layer, with an optional link to DataStore for saving it. Appstate Transform runs a composition outside the UI, so logic can be written in the Compose style and tested. Both are early alphas.
AndroidX releases · OfficialRead the source
2. LiteRT in Play services gets faster GPU inference
If your app runs models on device, switching to the Play services runtime makes it smaller and faster at once.
The details
Google's Developers Blog says LiteRT, its runtime for running machine learning models on the device, now offers GPU inference inside Google Play services. It is powered by a new engine called ML Drift and is about 1.4 times faster, with a new CompiledModel API. Because the runtime comes from Play services, apps no longer need to bundle it.
Google Developers Blog · OfficialRead the source
3. One malformed text message can crash Android's phone service
Every app that relies on calls or texts depends on this shared service, so watch for the fix in upcoming security patches.
The details
A report shared on Hacker News and Lobsters says a single malformed WAP Push message, a kind of system text message, crashes com.android.phone, the process that handles calls. When it crashes, active calls drop, including emergency calls. The Hacker News thread has about 330 points and nearly 190 comments.
Lobsters · android · CommunityRead the source
4. Did AI kill cross-platform mobile development?
If coding agents make writing native code twice cheap, the case for one shared codebase gets weaker.
The details
Vasiliy Zukanov of TechYourChance looks at Shopify's move away from React Native, Meta's cross-platform framework. Shopify claims AI has changed the trade-off between sharing one codebase and building native apps for Android and iOS. Zukanov reviews the evidence behind that claim.
TechYourChance (Vasiliy Zukanov) · ExpertRead the source
5. Haze 2.0 adds glass effects to Compose Multiplatform
A major version means API changes, so read the notes before upgrading if your app uses Haze.
The details
Chris Banes released Haze 2.0, his library for blur and frosted glass effects in Compose Multiplatform. It adds a Glass effect, a new effects API, performance improvements and experimental support for Android's native backdrop effects. These are the see-through bars and sheets that Apple's Liquid Glass design made popular again.
Chris Banes · ExpertRead the source