The latest release of Android Studio, version 3.1, focuses on improving app development productivity and includes a new C++ performance profiler, command line support for Kotlin lint checks, SQL code completion and improved refactoring, and more.
The following is a list of major highlights from the release notes:
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The underlying IntelliJ platform has been upgraded to version 2017.3.3, which improves support for Java 8, auto-migration from JUnit 4 to JUnit 5, and more.
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Android Studio 3.1 improves Kotlin support, introduced in Android Studio 3.0, by including Kotlin 1.2.30. Additionally, running
gradlew lintfrom the command line now also analyze Kotlin classes. -
SQL editing has been much improved when using the Room library, including support for code completion within an
@Querystatement, syntax highlighting, and better integration between the SQL model definition and the Java or Kotlin code referencing it. -
Android Studio 3.1 uses a new DEX compiler, called D8, to transform
.classbytecode into bytecode for the Android Runtime. D8 ensures faster conversion, lower memory usage, and improved code generation. -
C++ developers also benefit from the latest Android Studio release. Large projects should build significantly faster, while the LLDB debugger provides easier to read output for more C++ data structures. Additionally, the CPU profiler now supports sampling native C++ code.
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The Network Profiler now includes a Thread View to display network activity for each CPU thread that your app has spawn.
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The Android Emulator in Android Studio 3.1 is now able to resume a session in under six seconds using QuickBoot, which snapshots emulator sessions. Additionally, it includes images for Android 8.0 (API level 26), Android 8.1 (API level 27), and Android P Developer Preview.
Android Studio 3.1 can be downloaded from the official Android Studio download page, or installed directly from within Android Studio 3.0.