Google has announced the availability of Android Studio 3.6. According to the software giant, this update includes features addressing quality in primary code editing and debugging use cases. If you already write Android software with this IDE you should be offered the update automatically.
Android Studio 3.6 is the first major update for the software since Project Marble went stable in Android Studio 3.5. Project Marble was an attempt by Google to step back from adding big features and instead refining the work it had already done to improve performance. Learning from this experience, Android Studio 3.6 comes with a small number of new features and improves existing ones, while bugs were squashed, and the underlying performance was improved.
Commenting on the update, Scott Swarthout, Product Manager, said:
“Some highlights of Android Studio 3.6 include a new way to quickly design, develop and preview app layouts using XML, with a new Split View in the design editors. Additionally, you no longer have to manually type in GPS coordinates to test location with your app because we now embedded Google Maps right into the Android Emulator extended control panel. Finally, we’ve made it easier to optimize your app and find bugs with automatic memory leak detection for Fragments and Activities.”
Concisely covering the new features, Google published a nine-minute video explaining what you can do with the latest update:
If you’ve not downloaded Android Studio but want to try out this update, you can download it now. If you have already it installed and want to perform the update go to Help > Check for Updates... and follow the instructions.