Platforms

To develop an Android app, you must install at least one Android platform from the SDK Manager against which you can compile your app. Often, any given version of the Android will be revised with bug fixes or other changes, as denoted by the "revision" number. Below, you'll find the release notes for each version of the platform and the subsequent revisions to the platform version.

To determine what revision of an Android platform you have installed, refer to the "Installed Packages" listing in the Android SDK Manager.

Android 4.0.3

Important: To download the new Android 4.0.x system components from the Android SDK Manager, you must first update the SDK tools to revision 14 or later and restart the Android SDK Manager. If you do not, the Android 4.0.x system components will not be available for download.

Revision 3 (March 2012)

Maintenance update. The system version is 4.0.4.

Note: This system image includes support for emulator hardware graphics acceleration when used with SDK Tools r17 or higher. (more info)

Dependencies:
SDK Tools r17 or higher is required.

Revision 2 (January 2012)

Maintenance update. The system version is 4.0.3.

Dependencies:
SDK Tools r14 or higher is required.

Revision 1 (December 2011)

Initial release. The system version is 4.0.3.

Dependencies:
SDK Tools r14 or higher is required.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes the following emulator skins:

  • QVGA (240x320, low density, small screen)
  • WQVGA400 (240x400, low density, normal screen)
  • WQVGA432 (240x432, low density, normal screen)
  • HVGA (320x480, medium density, normal screen)
  • WVGA800 (480x800, high density, normal screen)
  • WVGA854 (480x854 high density, normal screen)
  • WXGA720 (1280x720, extra-high density, normal screen)
  • WSVGA (1024x600, medium density, large screen)
  • WXGA (1280x800, medium density, xlarge screen)

To test your application on an emulator that represents the latest Android device, you can create an AVD with the new WXGA720 skin (it's an xhdpi, normal screen device). Note that the emulator currently doesn't support the new on-screen navigation bar for devices without hardware navigation buttons, so when using this skin, you must use keyboard keys Home for the Home button, ESC for the Back button, and F2 or Page-up for the Menu button.

However, due to performance issues in the emulator when running high-resolution screens such as the one for the WXGA720 skin, we recommend that you primarily use the traditional WVGA800 skin (hdpi, normal screen) to test your application.

Android 4.0

Android 4.0, Revision 2 (December 2011)

Maintenance update. The system version is 4.0.2.

Dependencies:
SDK Tools r14 or higher is required.

Android 4.0, Revision 1 (October 2011)

Initial release. The system version is 4.0.1.

Dependencies:
SDK Tools r14 or higher is required.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes the following emulator skins:

  • QVGA (240x320, low density, small screen)
  • WQVGA400 (240x400, low density, normal screen)
  • WQVGA432 (240x432, low density, normal screen)
  • HVGA (320x480, medium density, normal screen)
  • WVGA800 (480x800, high density, normal screen)
  • WVGA854 (480x854 high density, normal screen)
  • WXGA720 (1280x720, extra-high density, normal screen) new
  • WSVGA (1024x600, medium density, large screen) new
  • WXGA (1280x800, medium density, xlarge screen)

To test your application on an emulator that represents the latest Android device, you can create an AVD with the new WXGA720 skin (it's an xhdpi, normal screen device). Note that the emulator currently doesn't support the new on-screen navigation bar for devices without hardware navigation buttons, so when using this skin, you must use keyboard keys Home for the Home button, ESC for the Back button, and F2 or Page-up for the Menu button.

However, due to performance issues in the emulator when running high-resolution screens such as the one for the WXGA720 skin, we recommend that you primarily use the traditional WVGA800 skin (hdpi, normal screen) to test your application.

Android 3.2

Android 3.2, Revision 1 (July 2011)

Initial release. SDK Tools r12 or higher is recommended.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes the following emulator skin:

  • WXGA (1280x800, medium density, xlarge screen)

For more information about how to develop an application that displays and functions properly on all Android-powered devices, see Supporting Multiple Screens.

Android 3.1

Android 3.1, Revision 3 (July 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r12 or higher.

Notes:

Improvements to the platform's rendering library to support the visual layout editor in the ADT Eclipse plugin. This revision allows for more drawing features in ADT and fixes several bugs in the previous rendering library. It also unlocks several editor features that were added in ADT 12.

Android 3.1, Revision 2 (May 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r11 or higher.

Notes:

Fixes an issue with the visual layout editor rendering library that prevented Android 3.1 from running in ADT.

Android 3.1, Revision 1 (May 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r11 or higher.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes the following emulator skin:

  • WXGA (1280x800, medium density, xlarge screen)

For more information about how to develop an application that displays and functions properly on all Android-powered devices, see Supporting Multiple Screens.

Android 3.0

Android 3.0, Revision 2 (July 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r12 or higher.

Notes:

Improvements to the platform's rendering library to support the visual layout editor in the ADT Eclipse plugin. This revision allows for more drawing features in ADT and fixes several bugs in the previous rendering library. It also unlocks several editor features that were added in ADT 12.

Android 3.0, Revision 1 (February 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r10 or higher.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes the following emulator skin:

  • WXGA (1280x800, medium density, xlarge screen)

Android 2.3.4

The sections below provide notes about successive releases of the Android 2.3.4 platform component for the Android SDK, as denoted by revision number. To determine what revision(s) of the Android 2.3.4 platforms are installed in your SDK environment, refer to the "Installed Packages" listing in the Android SDK and AVD Manager.

Android 2.3.4, Revision 1 (May 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r11 or higher.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes a set of emulator skins that you can use for modeling your application in different screen sizes and resolutions. The emulator skins are:

  • QVGA (240x320, low density, small screen)
  • WQVGA400 (240x400, low density, normal screen)
  • WQVGA432 (240x432, low density, normal screen)
  • HVGA (320x480, medium density, normal screen)
  • WVGA800 (480x800, high density, normal screen)
  • WVGA854 (480x854 high density, normal screen)

Android 2.3.3

Android 2.3.3, Revision 2 (July 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r12 or higher.

Notes:

Improvements to the platform's rendering library to support the visual layout editor in the ADT Eclipse plugin. This revision allows for more drawing features in ADT and fixes several bugs in the previous rendering library. It also unlocks several editor features that were added in ADT 12.

Android 2.3.3, Revision 1 (February 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r9 or higher.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes a set of emulator skins that you can use for modeling your application in different screen sizes and resolutions. The emulator skins are:

  • QVGA (240x320, low density, small screen)
  • WQVGA400 (240x400, low density, normal screen)
  • WQVGA432 (240x432, low density, normal screen)
  • HVGA (320x480, medium density, normal screen)
  • WVGA800 (480x800, high density, normal screen)
  • WVGA854 (480x854 high density, normal screen)

Android 2.3

The sections below provide notes about successive releases of the Android 2.3 platform component for the Android SDK, as denoted by revision number. To determine what revision(s) of the Android 2.3 platforms are installed in your SDK environment, refer to the "Installed Packages" listing in the Android SDK and AVD Manager.

Android 2.3, Revision 1 (December 2010)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r8 or higher.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes a set of emulator skins that you can use for modeling your application in different screen sizes and resolutions. The emulator skins are:

  • QVGA (240x320, low density, small screen)
  • WQVGA400 (240x400, low density, normal screen)
  • WQVGA432 (240x432, low density, normal screen)
  • HVGA (320x480, medium density, normal screen)
  • WVGA800 (480x800, high density, normal screen)
  • WVGA854 (480x854 high density, normal screen)

Android 2.2

Android , Revision 3 (July 2011)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r12 or higher.

Notes:

Improvements to the platform's rendering library to support the visual layout editor in the ADT Eclipse plugin. This revision allows for more drawing features in ADT and fixes several bugs in the previous rendering library. It also unlocks several editor features that were added in ADT 12.

Android , Revision 2 (July 2010)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r6 or higher.

System Image:
  • Adds default Search Widget.
  • Includes proper provisioning for the platform's Backup Manager. For more information about how to use the Backup Manager, see Data Backup.
  • Updates the Android 2.2 system image to FRF91.

Android , Revision 1 (May 2010)

Dependencies:

Requires SDK Tools r6 or higher.

Tools:

Adds support for building with Android library projects. See SDK Tools, r6 for information.

Emulator Skins

The downloadable platform includes a set of emulator skins that you can use for modeling your application in different screen sizes and resolutions. The emulator skins are:

  • QVGA (240x320, low density, small screen)
  • WQVGA (240x400, low density, normal screen)
  • FWQVGA (240x432, low density, normal screen)
  • HVGA (320x480, medium density, normal screen)
  • WVGA800 (480x800, high density, normal screen)
  • WVGA854 (480x854 high density, normal screen)