Google unveils Android Studio 2.0 with Instant Run, faster Android emulator

Despite the current limitations, Instant Run can populate builds up to 50 times faster than before and the overal IDE is about five times quicker when writing apps for Android 6.0 devices, Google tells The Next Web.

Besides speed, the other major addition to Android Studio 2.0 is a new GPU Profiler that will make it easier to profile OpenGL ES Android code. “In Android Studio, you can build a matrix of system images and emulated hardware” to test against, she added. New projects created with Android Studio 2.0 will work with Instant Run automatically while those built in earlier versions for Ice Cream Sandwich and later can be modified to use the feature.

Developers will have to enable Instant Run to use the function; the setting is found under the Build, Execution, Deployment setting in the app’s preferences.

Google announced the preview of Android Studio 2.0 the Android Developer Summit this week in Mountain View. The emulator is also getting a few new features, including the ability to resize the window to test different screen sizes, a new interface, and the ability to test different connectivity states for networking and Global Positioning System. The update is available in early preview form on Google’s Android developer blog through the company’s Canary Channel.

This is the first update to Android studio since its full release in December of a year ago. Android Studio is the default integrated developer environment for building Android apps provided by Google.

Still in beta, a new “GPU Profiler” tool lets you record entire OpenGL sessions, and see all the changes that occur frame by frame.

Stephanie Saad Cuthbertson, Google Group Product Manager, Android Studio, told ProgrammableWeb that Android continues to build momentum and the next improvements to Android Studio involve speed and helping developers quickly turn code into finished Android applications. Cuthbertson also explained that the Android Emulator UI has been completely rebuilt and that application code iteration can be performed all on one device. But again, this is coming in a future Canary release.

Although it’s not quite yet ready for prime time, Android Studio 2.0 is available as a preview through the Canary release channel.