As we inch nearer and nearer the final Android Q release, the time for builders to update their applications shortens. Although Android nine Pie (API level 28) has but reached the sizable majority of devices, Google Play’s API degree necessities, which you must already be nicely aware of, will force you to goal API stage 29 in 2020. If you haven’t already updated your app to goal Android 9 Pie, you definitely have until August if you plan to launch a new app or until November if you plan to update an existing app. For those of you who want to get commenced on growing for the following Android model, you can already take a look at your app at the Android Studio emulator or on bodily hardware if you personal any Google Pixel phone. This yr, even though Google is presenting builders some other manner to check their apps against the state-of-the-art Android version: flashing an Android Q beta GSI onto a Project Treble-well matched the device.
Project Treble is a primary initiative to enhance the speed at which phone device makers can push out software programs and protection updates. In a nutshell, Treble calls for device makers to separate the software program that makes the hardware work from the software in the back of the OS. This lets in device makers and new Android releases on their existing devices to start the arduous mission of porting their current code base on top of the new Android source code release. Complementary to CTS is VTS, or Vendor Test Suite, a fixed of assessments that device makers use to verify their tool meets Project Treble’s necessities. One of the maximum essential assessments for toolmakers to test is the capacity for a Treble-well matched smartphone to boot what’s called a GSI, or Generic System Image. A GSI is an unmodified construct of AOSP that’s supposed for toolmakers to look in the event that they’ve nicely applied Treble. Beyond OEMs, though, Google believes that GSIs may be used by builders for Android app compatibility checking out.
For instance, if you don’t own a Google Pixel, the only way for you to test your app’s behavior under the situations that satisfactory healthy Google’s documentation is with the intention to both acquire a Pixel device of your own, boot up the Android Studio emulator, or check out a cloud testing service. Each of these has its execs and cons, however when you have a present Treble-well suited device and don’t want to spend any cash or deal with the restrictions of an emulator, why now not slap a GSI onto it? If your app works on a GSI, it must work on almost all devices going for walks that Android version.
That’s the concept manner at the back of Google’s choice to release Android Q GSIs, or as a minimum, that’s what we assume. The supplied code for Android Q gained’t be to be had till August, so Google’s authentic GSI binaries are the most effective manner proper now to check Android Q on real, non-Pixel hardware. Here’s how you may get began.
Requirements
Before you even don’t forget to install the Android Q beta, you have to take a look to see if your device is Project Treble-well matched and may take delivery of flashing device pix from the bootloader.
Before we pass any, in addition, it’s worth citing that flashing a GSI would require you to perform a full wipe of the user data partition. This approach will lose all pictures, movies, songs, documents, or something else on the device’s inner and external (/facts/media) storage. Thus, making an off-device backup earlier than going any, in addition, is tremendously recommended.
Next, keep in mind that those GSIs haven’t handed CTS, so if your app uses the SafetyNet Attestation API to check for tool integrity with a CTS profile in shape, then that won’t make paintings. Also, those builds aren’t meant for daily use, so don’t be amazed if one or extra simple hardware capabilities don’t make paintings on top of the already documented bugs in Android Q. Google has already listed a few known issues with the GSI, which you may find right here. Any new bugs that you locate ought to be filed right here.
