The event revealed some notable statements for Android developers:

• Exciting new features to make Android app development easier
• Experience the latest wearable developments
• Enhancements to developer tools
• Updated Google wallet

Read more on what Google announced at the event and happy building your next Android project!

Key Announcements

Google I/O announcements are mainly for developers at the conference. The most important announcements made by Google were about artificial intelligence (AI) and Android OS.

Android 13 Beta

Android 13 is here. Your applications can make use of the latest security features, including access to paired devices, media files, and photo selection.

You can make your application more robust by only accessing the features you need. For example, if you like to customize the way your app looks, you can access a customized theme and use app-specific language assistance.

Additionally, you can now create better apps with new standards such as Bluetooth LE Audio and HDR video. You can also trial the Android 13 Beta on certain foldables, tablets, and phones.

Jetpack Compose

Google launched a beta for Google Compose 1.2 in order to fix one of its most well-known bugs.

Jetpack Compose is a Google Chrome extension that will launch fonts easily. You can also set fallbacks to work with the font.

The latest version of Jetpack Compose (version 1.1.0) now supports screen magnification for Android users in the text fields.

Android and iOS have been taken into consideration when developing the Magnifier, which provides users with a more convenient and accurate experience.

Android Studio

Google also announced some changes to their toolset for Android development. The newest version of the app, Android Studio Electric Eel, is a Canary release, meaning it’s not yet ready for public consumption. Another beta version of the app, Android Studio Dolphin, is currently in use by more people than previous versions.

Developers can use the Dolphin Android Studio app to see how often composables on their page can be re-written using the Layout Inspector. If they are able to recompose many times, it is likely worth optimizing that composable.

Dolphin provides developers with tools to preview the animations rapidly and provide support for different screen size devices.

Android Studio Electric Eel contains a re-composition highlighter, which predicts where and when the parts of various phrases need to be recombined.

Flutter 3

Google introduces Flutter 3 at its I/O 2022 event. The cross-platform apps development suite has new assistance for Linux and macOS, which will enable more apps to be built in half the time.

In this update, Firebase integration and the iOS Casual Games Toolkit are quickened, a more stable code is modified to provide faster compilation speeds when you’re developing on Macs.

With Flutter 3, you will get better support for Google’s Material Design Language. It also coexists with the launch of Dart SDK 2.17.

Large Screens and Foldables

This new Android 12L will allow users to have more screen space on larger screens like tablets and foldables. For example, you can use column-based layouts or the split-screen mode.

Android 13 provides a new way to build UIs

Google offers three starter layouts that are used to start projects with large screens:

• Feed
• Supporting Panel
• List Detail View

These are beginner level projects for basic use cases. New breakpoints that will help you change your UI depending on the space for various devices are:

• Expanded
• Medium
• Compact

Jetpack DragAndDrop and SlidingPaneLayout libraries are included on the JetpackWindowManger 1.1 library to help you create fluent UIs for a more immersive experience.

Health Connect

Health Connect was created to not only explore but also share health data quickly and safely across devices. It is a joint collaboration between Google, Samsung, and Fitbit.

Stop struggling to connect applications, and hand Health Connect all of your health data. The Health Connect SDK can be downloaded as a Jetpack Library.

Jetpack Health API allows users to manage their fitness data and gives them full knowledge of the information collected. Health Connect is a health and fitness management app that collects data from all Android apps in an on-device datastore, letting the user know about everything it collects.

Firebase

The Firebase team is using I/O to showcase the new Firebase Extension events. The ability to have extension’s functionality improved with code is a great way for developers to both expand the functionality and improve their product.

Now, using Firebase you can deploy your web applications that use Angular Universal and Next.JS with a single command: “firebase deploy.” It is expected that this support for other web frameworks will come soon as well.

Firebase has improved its support for Crashlytics down to the effort needed to get started, receive alerts from Crashlytics, log on-demand fatal issues in applications and group Flutter crashes more.

With the new Play Integrity API, Firebase provides better App Check integration, Swift language, and new functionalities.

Google Wallet

Google Wallet was the world’s first mobile wallet app, and grew a lot in the time that it was available. But then Google Pay came out in 2018, so now Google is making a return to their old wallet, to better suit the times.

Users can store their debit and credit cards digitally in Google Wallet, replacing the need for a physical wallet. People are now testing this service in the USA to replace their driver’s license.

The new features of Google Wallet include preset pass types such as boarding passes, loyalty cards, vaccination cards, and gift cards.

You’ll soon be able to use your Play Store account as a way to authenticate your Google Wallet account.

Android Vitals

Google plans to launch new updates to Android Vitals outside of the Play Console. The API will provide programmatic access to important metrics and data, such as stack traces and crashes.

Furthermore, Google is looking to simplify using Android Vitals with other crash reporting tools. As a result of this, you can now connect your Play app and Crashlytics app, giving you the ability to receive Play track data in Crashlytics.

Crashlytics and Vitals are going to take on the same name in the near future, which will make using them together easier.

Vitals now displays if a crash occurred in the background or foreground. If it was in the foreground, Vitals will also show you how to reproduce the crash to help developers improve their software.

Wear OS

The Wear OS 3.0 platform is a newly created Google-Samsung partnership that streams the most exclusive wearables from both companies. Currently available on the Galaxy Watch 4 series, more devices are expected to be released with this platform in the future.

Users will be able to contact emergency services from the wrist. This is due to the Emergency SOS feature, coming on Wear OS watches powered by Samsung.

Google’s new Wear OS watches are set to be released soon. In the coming months, Google Assistant will be available on some of these watches and always-on recognition will make it easier for users to manage the tasks in their day.

Google Play

Google has launched the Google Play SDK index, a web tool that shows you what apps use what packages, and what permissions they have.

Developers can now submit their special offer or event to the LiveOps beta, and have it featured on the Play Store. However, there are some limitations at the moment, but developers can register for the possibility to join.

The Play Store will have the capacity to support fifty store listings. These small variations depend on a user’s location and interests or regional ad campaign.

Google Assistant

Using the Google Assistant SDK, developers can create an App Action to perform basic tasks with voice commands through the Google Assistant.

Wear OS will get Google Assistant support in 2022. This means that there will be a robust selection of apps with which to talk to your computer/smartwatch, such as ordering a pizza or asking for directions.

This organization plans to help integrate health and fitness in-built indexes into existing apps, which will help users be more disciplined and stay on track with their workouts.

Google is developing a new feature called “Shortcut API for Android for Cars.” Shortcuts will provide voice access integration to developer programs on the Android Automotive or Auto platform.

The developers are constantly working on bettering the AI, but it’s not perfect. They have to rely on machine learning to create a better experience for our users.

Google has announced that it will now offer app installation suggestions made up of products from their Google’s Brandless. These new features are available for apps that have AI-based App Actions.

People can use Assistant to find the apps they will need. With App Install Suggestions and Brandless Queries, Assistant recommends the best app for your needs.

Baseline Profiles

Android’s new Baseline Profiles offer libraries and applications metadata about the usage frequency of their code before compilation, allowing Android to optimize runtime and enhance user experience.

With the addition of baseline profiles, Google has seen faster app start-up times. Google is already employing baseline profiles inside Jetpack and has added baselines to famous libraries like Compose and Fragments to better ensure an efficient user experience.

Bottom Line

Google has come up with innovations like Android and Firebase. With these, the development process becomes more efficient and convenient.

The post Google Announces 2022 Improvements For Developers appeared first on Creativ Digital.

Students from all over the world can take part in Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code conducted by Google. There are a variety of coding challenges through super cool activities so that everybody can learn to code even though they have no prior knowledge.

The best part is that learners of all ages in more than 30 languages can participate. Teachers and parents can organize this learning activity for their kids to teach them the fundamentals of programming using different starter projects.

Activities in Hour Of Code are self-guided so that students can learn at their own pace. Students from all over the world have already spent over 100 million hours of code during the Computer Science Education Week.

There is also an unplugged version so that learners can still continue to learn the basics of coding without any device. Students who complete activities will receive certificates and badges.

Learning to code is important because jobs in the computer science field are rapidly increasing and there aren’t enough people with the required skills to fill up positions.

The main idea of Google’s Hour of Code is to give people the opportunity to learn coding skills no matter the age or career they are pursuing.

If you want to learn coding or want to help somebody learn, check out the curriculum now.

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Luckily, the recent algorithm will not affect your ranking. However, studies have shown that increasing your EAT (expertise, authoritativeness and trust) can continue to help boost rankings.

EAT Tips To Improve Rankings

Expertise

Let’s face it; nobody is going to be an expert on everything. This is why many websites have blogs to showcase their expertise. Aside from this, blogs are a great way to communicate with users and interact with them.

When Google crawls your website to index it, they are looking for keywords and phrases to help it categorize your website within its gigantic library so that you can show up for the right search results. Expert blogging with the correct mix of relevant keywords can help improve your site rankings despite changes in algorithm.

Authority

Authority cannot be achieved overnight. However, authoritative content can help show Google and other search engines that you are an expert in your field.

One of the best ways to show authority is by continuing to post a series of content that helps to show your authority in your industry. For example, you can be a resource in house or building construction or write about the latest trend in your industry.

Trust

Always present readers with truthful information. For example, how can you trust something like “3 Weight Loss Tips Doctors Don’t Want You To Know.” Yes, it is sensational and you will likely get a few clicks, but most readers don’t really expect you to be serious or even truthful. For many, it is probably click bait that will lead you to dubious websites. Content like this is dramatic but will hurt your credibility and trust.

Want to know how to build trust? Google has a PDF regarding their search quality evaluators.

Have you noticed Google’s new algorithm? How has it affected your rankings? Tell us by leaving your comments below.

The post Google’s Recent Update & SEO appeared first on Creativ Digital.

Link building methods

The methods of link building are changing from time to time, and the latest updates have to be employed for your website to make sure that your site is at par with the latest technologies and work smoothly on any device and interface that operate on the latest technologies. It is important to have a thorough understanding of the link building campaigns and the benefits that you can get from them. When a website has many backlinks from various sources, it is considered to be a quality site with quality content and hence would rank higher up in the Google ranking. Google now also focuses on the link quality and not just the quantity. That is why you must keep in mind some of the latest link building updates for 2017 when you are creating your own link building strategies.

The page you link back to

There are different kinds of links on the internet, and they can have a different impact on your website ranking. When you are linked back from a relevant web page which has a PageRank powerhouse, it can influence your Google ranking to a large extent. It has been observed from years of research that the authority of the page that is linking to your website has a huge impact on your ranking and is one of the most important factors which must be taken into consideration. The main reason behind this is that the authoritative pages would be able to pass more authority which is also called PageRank to your site, unlike a website which does not have as much exposure or audience online. There are applications like the Ahrefs to check the proxy indicator of the PageRank for a site to determine whether it is powerful enough and would help you at all with your ranking.

Try and get in touch with a website or a blog with is relevant to your site and get a link back to them than getting many link backs from no-name bloggers.

The relevancy of the site

It is important to take note of the relevance of the website which you are linking with to ensure that it does not look like you are trying to manipulate the Google algorithms for increasing your ranking. Further, when you link with a website randomly, it affects the quality of the content that your site has. If your audiences are looking for certain information from your site but end up being redirected to another website which has an entirely different topic of interest on their reading list, the audience would feel betrayed and that their time is being wasted which would have an adverse impact on our traffic and audience psyche. With the help of the SEO keyword research template, you can easily manage this issue of relevancy. You can look up the relevant keywords which are suitable for the links and the content on your website and at the same time make sure that these keywords are taken care of such that you get a better ranking.

When you have the relevant link backs from another website with similar topics and the link is suitable for the context of the content, then it is considered to be a good link building campaign.

The position of the link on the page

When you are publishing an article that has anchor texts that are part of your link building campaign, it is essential to take note of the position of the anchor text on the page. If the anchor text is in the first couple of paragraphs and is the beginning of a sentence, it can send out a negative impression to the audiences. Further, it can look like a manipulation of the Google bots and the Google algorithm and hence a violation of the Google webmaster guidelines. If this is so, the ranking would be negatively impacted for your website. In case the link is further down the article, it may go unnoticed by the audience if they choose not to read through the entire article.

It is always safe and better to use the link back related anchor text in the middle of the content such that it is relevant to the things that you are writing there. One must make sure that the anchor text which is being used for the link building is relevant to the content and whatever you are talking about in the middle of the article.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that when you take note of some of the latest methods of link building you can reap the maximum output from the website. There are various methods of link building that are available to you, and you can come up with prosperous link building strategies when you take note of them.

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