Five things that changed in Android today.

1. 1

   1. Google will open Quick Share to Android and iOS apps

   If your app sends photos or files between people nearby, you may soon do it directly instead of uploading and sharing a link.

   At Android Dev Summit, Google announced a Quick Share SDK, a software kit apps can build in. Quick Share is Android's way to send files directly to a nearby device, without the internet. The SDK will let both Android and iOS apps offer that sharing inside the app. 9to5Google reports it arrives next year.

   9to5Google · Android · EcosystemRead the source ↗

2. 2

   2. Apps lose direct contact writes in the next Android release

   Any app that creates or edits contacts needs to move to the new approach before raising its target version.

   The details

   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 same post describes what Google calls a more reliable way to add and edit contacts. The change only applies once your app raises its target version.

   Android Developers Blog · OfficialRead the source ↗

3. 3

   3. Remote Compose for widgets moves into API review

   Widget developers may soon write widgets in Compose and still support older phones from the same code.

   The details

   Remote Compose is Google's way to draw widget interfaces with Compose code from another process. Today's AndroidX merges put its basic text, image, icon and spacer pieces into formal API review. Another change lets one home screen surface choose Remote Compose on newer Android versions and fall back to classic RemoteViews on older ones. None of this is released yet.

   AndroidX merged API changes · AOSP insiderRead the source ↗

4. 4

   4. Haze 2.1 makes its glass effect stable

   If you held off on Haze's glass effect because it was experimental, it is now stable to use in production.

   The details

   Haze is a popular open-source library by Chris Banes for blur and frosted glass effects in Jetpack Compose, Android's UI toolkit, and Compose Multiplatform. Version 2.1 makes its Glass effect stable, lets container surfaces merge, and adds styles that react to animated state. The Haze 2.1.0 release is also out.

   Chris Banes · ExpertRead the source ↗

5. 5

   5. One bad SMS can crash Android's phone service

   It shows how one parsing bug in a system service can cut off calls, a reminder to treat every incoming message as untrusted input.

   The details

   A report shared on Hacker News and Lobsters shows that a single malformed WAP Push message, a special kind of SMS, can crash Android's phone service. When it crashes, active calls drop, including emergency calls. The Hacker News thread has about 190 comments. The brief does not say which versions are affected or when a fix ships.

   Lobsters · android · CommunityRead the source ↗

Everything collected for this issue: 360 items from 77 sources →

Written by Claude from public sources each morning and published without human edits. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.