Posted by J. Eason – Director, Product Management
The next generation of foldable and wearable devices from Samsung has arrived. Yesterday at Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung introduced the new Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7, and Galaxy Watch8 series. For Android developers, these devices represent an exciting new opportunity to create engaging and adaptive experiences that reach even more users on their favorite screens.
With new advancements in adaptive development and the launch of Wear OS 6, it has never been a better time to build for the expanding Android device ecosystem. Learn more about what these new devices mean for you and how you can get started.
Unfold your app’s adaptive potential on Samsung’s newest Galaxy devices
The launch of the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 on Android 16 means users are about to experience your app in more dynamic and versatile ways than before. This creates an opportunity to captivate them with experiences that adaptively respond to every fold and flip. And preparing your app for these features is easier than you think. Building adaptive apps isn’t just about rewriting your code, but about making strategic enhancements that ensure a seamless experience across screens.
Google and Samsung have collaborated to bring a more seamless and powerful desktop windowing experience to large screen devices and phones with connected displays in Android 16 across the Android ecosystem. These advancements will enhance Samsung DeX, starting with the new Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7, and also extend to the wider Android ecosystem.
To help you meet this moment, we’ve built a foundation of development tools to simplify creating compelling adaptive experiences. Create adaptive layouts that reflow automatically with the Compose Adaptive Layouts library and guide users seamlessly across panes with Jetpack Navigation 3. Make smarter top-level layout decisions using the newly expanded Window Size Classes. Then, iterate and validate your design in Android Studio, from visualizing your UI with Compose Previews to generating robust tests with natural language using Journeys with Gemini.
Build for a more personal and expressive era with Wear OS 6
The next chapter for wearables begins with the new Samsung Galaxy Watch8 series becoming the first device to feature Wear OS 6, the most power-efficient version of our wearable platform yet. This update is focused on giving you the tools to create more personal experiences without compromising on battery life. With version 4 of the Watch Face Format, you can unlock new creative possibilities like letting users customize their watch faces by selecting their own photos or adding fluid transitions to the display. And, to give you more flexibility in distribution, the Watch Face Push API allows you to create and manage your own watch face marketplace.
Beyond the watch face, you can provide a streamlined experience to users by embracing an improved always-on display and adding passkey support to your app with the Credential Manager API, which is now available on Wear OS.
Check out the latest changes to get started and test your app for compatibility using the Wear OS 6 emulator.
Get started building across screens, from foldables to wearables
With these new devices from Samsung, there are more reasons than ever to build experiences that excite users on their favorite Android screens. From building fully adaptive apps for foldables to creating more personal experiences on Wear OS, the tools are in your hands to create for the future of Android.
Explore all the resources you’ll need to build adaptive experiences at developer.android.com/adaptive-apps. And, start building for Wear OS today by checking out developer.android.com/wear and visiting the Wear OS gallery for inspiration.
