Android4.1 new features)

Welcome to android4.1, jelly bean!

Android4.1 is the fastest and smoothest version of Android so far. We have improved the entire platform and added a lot of new features to users and developers. This document is just the tip of the iceberg for the new features of android4.1.

For more information, see the android4.1 APIs document to learn more about the latest developer APIs.

 

Faster, smoother, and more responsive

 

The optimized android4.1 provides the best display mode and the lowest touch latency, providing a simple and easy-to-use user interface

To ensure consistent frame rate, Android extends the vertical synchronous speed control (Vsync timing) To process all images and animations in the android framework. Everything is running on a 16-millisecond vertical sync heartbeat machine with consistent steps-including program rendering, touch events, screen composition, and display refresh-So frames are not pushed ahead or delayed.

To achieve more consistent rendering, android4.1 adds a triple buffer (Triple Buffering) Technology to make everything feel smoother, such as scrolling to pages and animations.

 

Enhanced accessibility-enhanced accessibility

 

Android4.1 reduces touch Latency by synchronously touching vsync timing, and reduces touch Latency by predicting where your fingers will refresh the screen. In this way, you can get easier and more even touch responses .. In addition, Android will apply forCPU input boostTo ensure that there is no delay in the next touch event.

ToolingIt can help you get the full best performance of the application. In the design of android4.1, a new tool that supports work isSystraceIt can directly collect data from the Linux kernel to generate an overall diagram of all system activities. The collected data is represented as a set of time series charts vertically stacked to help isolate rendering interruptions and other problems, now this tool is available in the android SDK (tools R20 or higher ).

 

Support international users

 

Bidirectional text and other language support

 

Android4.1 supports bidirectional text in textview and edittext to help you win more users. Applications can display text or process text editing Based on scripts from left to right or from right to left. The application can use the new Arabic, Hebrew, and related fonts.

Support for other types of new languages include:

• Additional Indian languages: Ena German, Telugu, marlayaram
• Unicode 6.0 for newly painted text characters
• Better font style support for Japanese users (for example, the font style rendering for Japanese-specific versions when the system language is set to Japanese)
• The Arabic style is optimized on webviews, except textviews.
• Vertical text is supported in webviews, including Ruby text and other vertical text fonts.
• Synthetic bold fonts can now be used for all fonts without specialized bold fonts

 

 

User-installable keyboard ing

 

The platform now supports disk ing of the user's installation key. For example, other international keyboards and special layout keyboards are supported. By default, android4.1 contains 27 international keyboards, including Dvorak. When a user connects to a keyboard, they can set the program to select one or more keyboards they want to use. When typing, you can use the shortcut key (such as Ctrl-space) to switch between keyboard la S. You can create a keyboard ing and publish it to the system. This APK should include the keyboard layout resource file, based on the standard Android keyboard ing format. To provide a custom keyboard layout for this application, you must declare an appropriate broadcast receiver (action_query_keyboard_layouts) in the manifest file of the application ).

 

Construct a more beautiful UI

 

Extended notification functions

 

Extended notifications allow you to display more types of notification content. You can use a simple gesture to expand them. The notification feature is already unique and popular on Android. Without affecting the application UI, developers can display important or time-based information to users in the notification bar.

Android 4.1 has made major updates to the android notification framework. Applications can now show larger and richer notifications by clicking expand or collapse. Notifications support new content types, including photos, priority settings, and even multiple actions.

By improving the use of notifications, the application can create a notification with a large area and a height of up to 256 DP. The notification styles of the three templates are available:

• Bigtextstyle-notification, which includes an object with multiple textviews.
• Biginboxstyle-the notification displays messages and titles of any type, such as a list.
• Bigpicturestyle-displays visual content notifications, such as bitmap.

In addition to the template style, you can use any remote view to create your own notification display mode ,.

The application can add three actions under the notification content. Allow users to directly respond to the notification information in an alternative way. If you do not use an application to access an email or phone number.

With scalable notifications, applications can easily provide more information to users. You can also press any notification to obtain information about the notification sender, and choose to disable further notifications for the application.

Notification extensions let you see more types of notification content. You can use a simple gesture to expand them.

 

Adjustable application Widgets

 

The application tool can be automatically adjusted to adapt to the main screen. Different content is loaded when its size changes. Android 4.1 introduces an improved application tool that automatically adjusts the size of the total space provided on the home screen based on the location on the user's drag to the home screen. The new application parts API allows you to take advantage of this advantage to optimize the widget size when the size of your application parts changes.

When the size of a widget changes, the system notifies the component supplier of the Host application that the widget content needs again. For example, a widget can display larger, richer graphics or additional functions or options. Developers can still maintain the maximum and minimum sizes and update other part options as needed.

You can also provide separate horizontal and vertical la s to resize the system when the screen orientation changes properly.

Application components can now be displayed on third-party transmitters and other host applications through a new binding Letter of Intent (appwidgetmanager. action_appwidget_bind.

The application widget can automatically resize to adapt to the main screen and load different content to adapt to its size changes.

 

Simplified task navigation

 

Android 4.1 makes it easier for you to manage the top navigation bar from your application and helps ensure a consistent user experience.

Add new XML attributes to the manifest file of the application to define the independent activity component in the UI in the top navigation bar. You can. At runtime, with the launch of the activity, the most frequently extracted navigation tree in the manifest file of the system will be automatically created in the action bar. Developers who declare the list navigation do not need to manage the callback of the navigation at runtime, but they can also do so, if needed.

It can also be a new taskstackbuilder class, which allows you to quickly start a manually merged Task Stack or an activity used when pendingintent is started. Creating a compositing Task Stack is especially useful when users launch activities from remote comments such as widgets and notifications from the home screen, as it enables developers to provide hosted, consistent experience, back to navigation.

 

Simple animation of activity lanuch

 

You can use a new helper class, activityoptions, create and control, and animation display when you start your activity. Through the helper class, you can specify the Custom Animation resources to be used when the activity starts, or require the new scaling animation to start from any one you specify on the screen, and selectively include the rectangle of a thumbnail bitmap.

 

Switch between lamp output and full screen mode

 

The logos in the new system UI view allow you to make a clean transition, or be visible from a normal application interface (Operation bar, navigation bar, system bar ), "Light Output Mode" (hidden in the status bar and operation bar, and dimmed in the navigation bar) "Full Screen mode" (Status Bar, move it up, all hidden navigation bars ).

 

New remoteable views type

 

Developers can now use gridlayout's viewstub in the home screen widgets and notification comments. Gridlayout allows you to build the content and management of remote comments and the child's opinion routes in a shallow UI hierarchy. Viewstub is an invisible, zero-size view that can be used to expand the layout resources at runtime.

 

Live wallpaper Preview

 

Android 4.1 makes it easier for users to find and install live wallpapers, including their applications. If your app includes live wallpapers, you can now start an activity (action_change_live_wallpaper), displaying the live wallpaper previews of the user from your app. From preview, you can directly load live wallpapers.

 

Photos of contacts at higher resolution

 

With Android 4.1, you can store photos of contacts, such as large 720 × 720, to make the contact richer and more personal. Applications can store and retrieve contact photos in this size, or use any other size required. The maximum Photo size supported on a specific device may vary, so the application should query the built-in Contact supplier to obtain the maximum size of the current device at runtime.

 

New input types and functions

 

Find out information about device addition and Deletion

 

When a new device is connected, such as USB, Bluetooth, or any other connection type, the application will be notified by registration, they can use this information to change the status or required functions. For example, a game application may receive a notification that a new keyboard or joystick is connected, indicating that a new member is added.

 

Query input device functions

 

Android4.1 includes many input device features, which allow applications and games to take full advantage of the features of those connected and valid input devices. The application can query the Device Manager to enumerate all input devices currently connected and learn about each function.

 

Control the vibrator on the input device

 

In other functions, applications can now use the relevant vibration services of any connected input device, such (Rumble Pak) Controller.

 

Animation and graphics-animation and graphics

 

Vertical sync Technology in applications

 

The extended vsync of the entire android framework produces a more consistent frame rate and a smooth and stable UI. All apps will benefit from the fact that the extended vsync timing of android4.1 affects the plotting and animation initiated by the user reference program. This allows them to optimize operations on the UI thread and provides a stable synchronization base.

Apps can use the advantage of vsync timing for free through the android animation framework. The animation frame now uses vsync timing to automatically synchronize the entire animation.

For special purposes, applications can use the choreographer API to access the vsync timing function. Applications can require verification at the next vsync frame, which is a good way to arrange animations without the need for an animation frame. In more advanced usage, the application can pass the callback function in the choreographer class, which will be called in the next frame.

 

New animation and transition types

 

The current animation framework allows you to define the actions taken when you start and end the viewpropertyanimator animation, to help them synchronize with the actions in other animations or applications, and to run any runnable object. For example, the runnable object can specify that another animation starts after the previous animation is completed.

You can also specify a viewpropertyanimator to use a layer during the animation process. Before that, it is best to create a layer before the animation is completed, and then delete the layer when the onanimationend () event is processed. Now, the withlayer () method in viewpropertyanimator can simplify this process. You only need to call one function at a time.

A new Transition type in layouttransition can automatically respond to a changed animation in the viewgroup layout.

 

New communication methods

 

Android Beam

 

Android beam is a popular NFC-based technology that allows users to share information immediately when there are two NFC-enabled phone calls.

In android4.1, Android beam makes it easier to share images, videos, and other data that require Bluetooth for transmission. When a user triggers the transmission, Android beam transfers files from one device to another through NFC to Bluetooth.

 

WiFi network service discovery

 

Android 4.1 introduces the support for multicast-based DNS service discovery, it allows applications to search for and connect to services provided by peer devices over a Wi-Fi network, including mobile devices, printers, digital cameras, media players, and other services. Developers can use the advantages of Wi-Fi network service discovery to establish cross-platform or multiplayer games and applications.

Using service discovery APIs, applications can create and register any types of services for any device that supports NSD. Services use easily readable string identifiers through Multicast on the network, which makes it easier for users to identify service types.

Consumer devices can use APIs to scan and discover the services provided by devices connected to the local Wi-Fi network. After discovery, the application can use the API to obtain the IP address and port of the service, through which a socket connection can be established.

You can use the advantages of this API to create new functions for your application. For example, you can create an application that allows users to connect to a camera, printer, or Wi-Fi peering connection supported by other mobile devices.

 

Direct service discovery of WiFi

 

The wifi direct connection technology is introduced in the android ice cream sandwich version to enable applications to discover and match high-bandwidth peering connections. Direct wi-fi connection is an ideal way to share media, photos, files, and other types of data and sessions, even if there is no mobile network or Wi-Fi available.

In the android jelly bean version, Android further provides the Wi-Fi direct connection feature to support the relevant service discovery API. Previous Service Discovery allows your applications to obtain more information about their service support before connecting to a nearby device. Applications can start the discovery of specific services and filter the list of devices that actually support the target services or applications.

For example, this means that your application can discover devices that have a print function or a specific game, rather than discovering all nearby Wi-Fi direct connections. On the other hand, your applications can publish services to other devices, and other devices can discover them and establish a connection. This greatly simplifies user discovery and pairing, allowing applications to take advantage of Wi-Fi direct connections more effectively.

With Wi-Fi direct service discovery, you can create apps and multiplayer games that share all photos, videos, games, scores, or almost any other data without any Internet or mobile network. You can use only one direct P2P connection to avoid using mobile bandwidth connections.

 

Network bandwidth management

 

Android 4.1 applications use appropriate devices to connect to the Metering Network when managing data, including mobile hotspots. Applications can query whether a large number of downloads can be started on the current network. Otherwise, the network may be expensive. With this API, you can now get clear information about which network is sensitive to data and manage your network activities accordingly.

 

New multimedia functions

 

Multimedia decoder access

 

Android 4.1 provides low-level platform hardware and software decoder access. The app can query the system and find out which low-level multimedia decoder is available on the device. For example, you can now create multiple multimedia decoder instances, enter the input cache in the queue, and receive the returned output cache. Moreover, this multimedia decoder framework supports protected content. The app can query the decoder with the permission to access protected content through the DRM method on the device.

 

USB audio

 

USB audio output supports hardware manufacturers to produce hardware like audio docks, which is connected to Android devices. This feature is also available in adk. All developers can create their own hardware.