Android 3.2 Platform



Android 3.2 is an incremental platform release that adds new capabilities for users and developers. The sections below provide an overview of the new features and developer APIs.
For developers, the Android 3.2 platform is available as a downloadable component for the Android SDK. The downloadable platform includes an Android library and system image, as well as a set of emulator skins and more. The downloadable platform includes no external libraries.


Platform Highlights

New user features

  • Optimizations for a wider range of tablets
    Android 3.2 includes a variety of optimizations across the system to ensure a great user experience on a wider range of tablet devices.
  • Compatibility zoom for fixed-sized apps
    Android 3.2 introduces a new compatibility zoom mode that gives users a new way to view fixed-sized apps on larger devices. The new mode provides a pixel-scaled alternative to the standard UI stretching for apps that are not designed to run on larger screen sizes, such as on tablets. The new mode is accessible to users from a menu icon in the system bar, for apps that need compatibility support.
  • Media sync from SD card
    On devices that support an SD card, users can now load media files directly from the SD card to apps that use them. A system facility makes the files accessible to apps from the system media store.

New developer features

  • Extended API for managing screens support
    Android 3.2 introduces extensions to the platform's screen support API to give developers additional ways to manage application UI across the range of Android-powered devices. The API includes new resource qualifiers and new manifest attributes that give you more precise control over how your apps are displayed on different sizes, rather than relying on generalized size categories.
    To ensure the best possible display for fixed-sized apps and apps with limited support for various screen sizes, the platform also provides a new zoom compatibility mode that renders the UI on a smaller screen area, then scales it up to fill the space available on the display. For more information about the screen support API and the controls it provides, see the sections below.