In order to get Android apps developed a little easier and faster, Android Studio 2.0 was released back in November as the latest integrated development environment (IDE). This new release included new features such as “Instant Run”, which allows to quickly edit and view code changes. In December, developers could preview the new and improved Android emulator. Now, Android Studio 2.0 Beta is available to download and this release includes a few updated features as well as new ones.
Android Studio 2.0 is based on the efficient coding platform IntelliJ 15 and since the latest release, it included a Fast Android Debug Bridge (ADB) for up to 5x faster files pushing and there’s a GPU Profiler Preview to step through the OpenGL ES code in order to optimize apps and games. Instant Run is used to make the app deployment cycle and code editing faster. The Android Emulator is faster than most real devices and it features a new interface. The Google App Indexing Integration & Testing feature is meant to re-engage users by adding app indexing into their apps.
Instant Run was updated with a new feature called Cold Swap, which lets developers quickly restart the whole application, although it is available when API level 21 or above are deployed. The App Indexing also received a new feature called URL Testing & Validation, this feature was used to add indexing code stubs into the code, and now they will be able to test and validate their URL links in the app within the IDE. The built-in validation tool is called Google App Indexing Test, and it can be found on the Android section from the Tools menu. Finally, the Android Emulator in this Beta release got updated with fixes and small enhancements, but developers could certainly notice the updated rotation controls on the emulator toolbar and multi-touch support to test apps that use pinch to zoom gestures. To use the multi-touch feature, just hold down the Alt key and right click to center the point of reference, alternatively, click & drag the left mouse button to zoom. This new release is very close to the final version, so not many bugs are expected. You can check for the update right from the program or download it from the Android Studio Beta Channel.
