Latest News about Android Apps
May 5, 2024
Current summary of Android apps
- All apps support at least Android 4.4 (Android KitKat). As long as Google provides support for older versions of Android, I will continue to support those versions.
- In March and April of this year, updated versions of all apps with a TargetSdk equal to 34 were released (on the Google store), as per Google's request, ahead of the deadline set in August 2024.
- All apps support English and Italian languages, only two apps (App Manager and Container Check Digit Creator) support other languages. There is currently no schedule for supporting other languages on other apps.
- All apps have the same “look and feel”, some of them natively support Google's Material Design 3, in other apps it is simulated. In any case, switching from one app to another is very simple, since much of the operating environment is similar in all apps.
- Two apps “Toggle Status Widget” and “Quick Device Controls” share the same source code on device controls. The “Toggle Status Widget” and “Dark Mode QS” apps share the same source code on the “Dark Mode” quick setting – the same source code has also been ported to
the “Dark Mode” switch within the “Toggle Status Widgets” app. Whenever the code of the aforementioned apps is updated, the changes will be carried over to other apps, in order to simplify the sharing of the source code.
- All the apps were published on the Google store, except one (SSID Wi-Fi Manager), which was removed by Google also because it could no longer be updated without having to comply with the obligations on the TargetSdk.
- The latest versions of Android (14 and the next 15) do not allow the installation of old apps with a very low TargetSdk (less than 23 on Android 14 and, it is rumored, less than 24 on Android 15). The only way to install older apps is manually using the ADB
command (adb install --bypass-low-target-sdk-block name_of_package.apk). My “App Manager” app can already install old apps from a folder just using the above trick. However, it must be kept in mind that two of my apps (SSID Wi-Fi Manager and Toggle Status Widget)
on my website have a TargetSdk equal to 28. This means that, in a few years, the next versions of Android will no longer allow easy installation the aforementioned two apps, if not using the aforementioned trick.
- On most of my apps there is increasingly extensive support for vector images and no longer for "raster" ones, in this way the space in the apps is reduced, but at the expense of performance (performance which is still more than high if we consider the impressive
speed of modern smartphones). Raster .PNG files, if not convertible into vector images, have been converted into .WEBP files, again to reduce file size.
- Most of my apps support devices with a large screen, such as tablets, foldables, and desktops. The versions of the apps on the author's website are partially compatible with Android TVs, even if they are not designed for this type of device (the apps designed
natively for Android TVs require the use only of the remote-control buttons, my apps are designed only for touchscreens or for use with a keyboard and mouse).
- My apps are completely free of advertising, they are free, they do not contain any type of external closed library, they do not contain malware or any other type of malicious software. In 45 years of programming, I have always distrusted closed code, which cannot
be verified or directly studied. The new generations do not set limits from this point of view, but this will lead to apps that are increasingly full of viruses and malicious software, even if they are more modern and pleasant apps in terms of design (considering,
however, that these apps require a real team of experts, see next point).
- More and more stakes and even more limits imposed on developers by Google lead me to some reflections. I am a simple freelance programmer, I don't have a team available and designing an Android app requires a lot of work, with even modest results. I continually
wonder if the game is worth the candle. Google, as supplier of the development environment but also supplier of its operating system, has only partially helped developers in recent years, however the fact remains that an Android app requires a ton of work, almost
impossible to carry out without a real development team. This favors large and small companies, to the detriment of small programmers.
- After 8 years of development on Android (my first App was “Container Check Digit Creator” released in February 2016), the results can even be remarkable with two apps (App Manager and Toggle Status Widget), but only satisfactory with the other apps. However, the
thing that perplexes developers like me is the actual data provided by Google. If the number of total installs would always seem notable, in reality there is another parameter provided by Google that leaves me confused, namely the "Active devices", which is the number
of devices that have currently installed an app. For each app the difference between the two values is notable and personally I don't know which of the two to account for. The following table provides some updated data on my apps.
January 12, 2022
Material Design 3
Starting from year 2022, my apps support the new "Google Material Design 3" color theming system (also known as Material You).
"Material Design 3" is the next evolution of Material Design. "Material Design 3" includes updated theming and components and "Material You" personalization,
features like Dynamic Colors, and is designed to be cohesive with the new Android 12 visual style and system UI.
Please give a look to Google website for further informations about "Material You" and
to Google website for further informations about Dynamic Colors.
Furthermore my apps support Foldable Devices in all their screen configurations (please see Google website for further informations about Foldable Devices).
Two tables are displayed below, the first shows the apps that natively use the Material Design 3 and Dynamic Colors, the second shows the apps
that simulate the Material Design 3 (they don't support Dynamic Colors).
Apps WITH "Material Design 3" (with Dynamic Colors)
Apps WITH SIMULATED "Material Design 3" (no Dynamic Colors)
October 27, 2020
Android targetSdkVersion 29
As announced by Google on its page dedicated to Android Developers, from
November 2, 2020 it will be possible to publish apps only with a "targetSdkVersion"
29 or later. Of my apps, only two have more or less serious issues - these issues only affect users of devices running Android 10 or later.
- SSID WiFi Manager : this app has the most serious issue. Since adopting the "targetSdkVersion"
equal to 29, disables the ability to enable/disable Wi-Fi directly and disables the ability to switch directly from one SSID to another (two core
functions of this app), this app won't be published anymore on the Google Store after the above-mentioned date. However, both the app update within the app
itself and the update via the developer's website will be guaranteed.
- Toggle Status Widget :
This app will continue to be published on the Google Store, but it will have the following inevitable changes:
- To use the "Network" switch,
you will need to enable permissions in the Settings window;
-
The "WiFi" switch will open a Quick Panel instead of turning the Wi-Fi on/off directly. Only users with ROOT privileges will be able to
continue to turning the Wi-Fi on/off directly.
However, the version of the app with the "targetSdkVersion" equal to 28 will be provided on the Developer website, so that users of Android 10
and later versions will not have the above-mentioned limitations.
October 27, 2020
Material Design
In this section I will give a brief explanation on using Google's "Material Design" on my Android apps.
I decided to use Google's "Material Design" after the implementation of the Navigation Bar inside "Toggle
Status Widget" app at the end of June 2020. Actually the first real implementation of the "Material Design" happened
with version 1.7 of "Toggle Status
Widget" app and with version 1.8 of "SSID WiFi Manager" app, both
published at the end of September 2020.
The use of the Navigation Bar and the subsequent use of the "Material Design" led to a weighting of apps and a significant increase
in the size of the APK files. Therefore I decided to avoid the use of "Material Design" on some basic apps (such as "Container Check Digit Creator"
app), trying to simulate "Material Design" as much as possible, without weighing down the apps and without increasing
the size of the APK files.
Two tables are displayed below, the first shows the apps that use the Material Design (with the Navigation Bar), the second shows the apps
that don't use the Material Design (so they don't have the Navigation Bar).
Apps WITH "Material Design" (WITH NAVIGATION BAR)
Apps WITH SIMULATED "Material Design" (WITHOUT NAVIGATION BAR)
