With new kind components rising regularly, the Android ecosystem is extra dynamic than ever.

From telephones and foldables to tablets, Chromebooks, TVs, automobiles, Put on and XR, Android customers count on their apps to run seamlessly throughout an more and more numerous vary of kind components. But, many Android apps fall wanting these expectations as they’re constructed with UI constraints similar to being locked to a single orientation or restricted in resizability.

With this in thoughts, Android 16 launched API adjustments for apps focusing on SDK degree 36 to disregard orientation and resizability restrictions beginning with massive display gadgets, shifting towards a unified mannequin the place adaptive apps are the norm. That is the second to maneuver forward. Adaptive apps aren’t simply the way forward for Android, they’re the expectation in your app to face out throughout Android kind components.

Prioritizing optimizations to make your app adaptive isn’t nearly maintaining with the orientation and resizability API adjustments in Android 16 for apps focusing on SDK 36. Adaptive apps unlock tangible advantages throughout person expertise, growth effectivity, and market attain.

• Cell apps can now attain customers on over 500 million lively massive display gadgets: Cell apps run on foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and even suitable automobiles, with minimal adjustments. Android 16 will introduce important developments in desktop windowing for a real desktop-like expertise on massive screens, together with linked shows. And Android XR opens a brand new dimension, permitting your present apps to be out there in immersive environments. The person expectation is evident: a constant, high-quality expertise that intelligently adapts to any display — be it a foldable, a pill with a keyboard, or a movable, resizable window on a Chromebook.
• “The brand new baseline” with orientation and resizability API adjustments in Android 16: We imagine cellular apps are present process a shift to have UI adapt responsively to any display measurement, identical to web sites. Android 16 will ignore app-defined restrictions like fastened orientation (portrait-only) and non-resizable home windows, starting with massive screens (smallest width of the gadget is >= 600dp) together with tablets and internal shows on foldables. For many apps, it’s key to serving to them stretch to any display measurement. In some circumstances in case your app isn’t adaptive, it may ship a damaged person expertise on these screens. This strikes adaptive design from a nice-to-have to a foundational requirement.

• Enhance person attain and app discoverability in Play: Adaptive apps are higher positioned to be ranked greater in Play, and featured in editorial articles throughout kind components, reaching a wider viewers throughout Play search and homepages. Moreover, Google Play Retailer surfaces scores and critiques throughout all kind components. In case your app will not be optimized, a possible person’s first impression is perhaps tainted by a 1-star evaluation complaining a couple of stretched UI on a tool they don’t even personal but. Customers are additionally extra prone to interact with apps that present an incredible expertise throughout their gadgets.
• Elevated engagement on massive screens: Customers on massive display gadgets typically have totally different interplay patterns. On massive screens, customers might interact for longer classes, carry out extra complicated duties, and devour extra content material.

Ideas noticed a 70% enhance in person engagement on massive screens after optimizing.

Utilization for six main media streaming apps within the US was as much as 3x extra for pill and cellphone customers, as in comparison with cellphone solely customers.

• Extra accessible app experiences: In accordance with the World Financial institution, 15% of the world’s inhabitants has some sort of incapacity. Folks with disabilities depend upon apps and providers that assist accessibility to speak, study, and work. Matching the person’s most well-liked orientation improves the accessibility of purposes, serving to to create an inclusive expertise for all.

“…trying on the variety of customers, the ROI doesn’t justify the funding”.

That’s a frequent pushback from product managers and decision-makers, and in case you’re simply taking a look at top-line analytics evaluating the variety of pill classes to smartphone classes, it would appear to be a closed case.

Whereas top-line analytics would possibly present decrease session numbers on tablets in comparison with smartphones, concluding that giant screens aren’t definitely worth the effort based mostly solely on present quantity could be a lure, inflicting you to overlook out on precious engagement and future alternatives.

Let’s take a deeper look into why:

1. The person expertise ‘hen and egg’ loop: Is it attainable that the low utilization is a symptom fairly than the basis trigger? Customers are fast to desert apps that really feel clunky or damaged. In case your app on massive screens is a stretched-out cellphone interface, the app doubtless supplies a unfavorable person expertise. The shortage of customers would possibly replicate the shortage of expertise, not at all times essentially lack of potential customers.
2. Past person quantity, take a look at person engagement: Don’t simply depend customers, analyze their price. Customers work together with apps on massive screens in another way. The massive display typically results in longer classes and extra immersive experiences. As talked about above, utilization information reveals that engagement time will increase considerably for customers who work together with apps on each their cellphone and pill, as in comparison with cellphone solely customers.
3. Market evolution: The Android gadget ecosystem is constant to evolve. With the rise of foldables, upcoming linked shows assist in Android 16, and kind components like XR and Android Auto, adaptive design is now extra important than ever. Constructing for a particular display measurement creates technical debt, and should sluggish your growth velocity and compromise the product high quality in the long term.

For organizations prepared to maneuver ahead, Android affords many sources and developer instruments to optimize apps to be adaptive. See under for learn how to get began:

1: Examine how your app appears on massive screens immediately

Start by taking a look at your app’s present state on tablets, foldables (in several postures), Chromebooks, and environments like desktop windowing. Affirm in case your app is on the market on these gadgets or in case you are unintentionally leaving out these customers by requiring pointless options inside your app.

2: Handle widespread UI points

Assess what feels awkward in your app UI immediately. We’ve got lots of steering out there on how one can simply translate your cellular app to different screens.

a) Examine the Giant screens design gallery for inspiration and understanding how your app UI can evolve throughout gadgets utilizing confirmed options to widespread UI challenges.

b) Begin with fast wins. For instance, forestall buttons from stretching to the complete display width, or change to a vertical navigation bar on massive screens to enhance ergonomics.

c) Establish patterns the place canonical layouts (e.g. list-detail) may remedy any UI awkwardness you recognized. Might a list-detail view enhance your app’s navigation? Would a supporting pane on the facet make higher use of the additional house than a backside sheet?

3: Optimize your app incrementally, display by display

It could be useful to prioritize the way you strategy optimization as a result of not all the pieces must be completely adaptive on day one. Incrementally enhance your app based mostly on what issues most — it’s not all or nothing.

a) Begin with the foundations. Take a look at the massive display app high quality tips which tier and prioritize the fixes which can be most crucial to customers. Take away orientation restrictions to assist portrait and panorama, and guarantee assist for resizability (for when customers are in cut up display), and forestall main stretching of buttons, textual content fields, and pictures. These foundational fixes are important, particularly with API adjustments in Android 16 that may make these elements much more necessary.

b) Implement adaptive structure optimizations with a deal with core person journeys or screens first.

i. Establish screens the place optimizations (for instance a two-pane structure) supply the largest UX win

ii. After which proceed to screens or elements of the app that aren’t as typically used on massive screens

c) Help enter strategies past contact, together with keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and stylus enter. With new kind components and linked shows assist, this units customers as much as work together together with your UI seamlessly.

d) Add differentiating hero person experiences like assist for tabletop mode or dual-screen mode on foldables. This could occur on a per-use-case foundation — for instance, tabletop mode is nice for watching movies, and twin display mode is nice for video calls.

Whereas there’s an upfront funding in adopting adaptive ideas (utilizing instruments like Jetpack Compose and window measurement lessons), the long-term payoff could also be important. By designing and constructing options as soon as, and letting them adapt throughout display sizes, the advantages outweigh the price of creating a number of bespoke layouts. Take a look at the adaptive apps developer steering for extra.

The message for my fellow product managers, decision-makers, and companies is evident: adaptive design will uplevel your app for high-quality Android experiences in 2025 and past. An adaptive, responsive UI is the scalable method to assist the numerous gadgets in Android with out growing on a per-form issue foundation. If you happen to ignore the various gadget ecosystem of foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and rising kind components like XR and automobiles, what you are promoting is accepting hidden prices from unfavorable person critiques, decrease discovery in Play, elevated technical debt, and missed alternatives for elevated person engagement and person acquisition.

Maximize your apps’ impression and unlock new person experiences. Study extra about constructing adaptive apps immediately.