Today, Google shared a case study of sorts on how Meta was able to improve Android app development internally.
Meta formed an “Android OS Readiness Program” following the launch of Android 11 in light of “challenges with existing features, such as Chat Heads, and new requirements, such as limited storage integration.”
Solving these problems was complicated by the slow adoption of development tools and the decentralized application strategy.
With Android 12, Meta apps took “seven to nine months” to target the latest version of the OS. Last year, it only took one to two months after the release of Android 14 AOSP for Messenger, Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
…by automating and streamlining the SDK release process, Meta was able to reduce deployment time from three weeks to less than three hours, improving collaboration between individual application teams by providing instant access to the latest SDKs and enabling rapid testing of new OS features.
Last year, Meta compiled apps for each version of Android 14 Beta and conducted “automated and smoke tests to proactively identify potential issues.”
- “For example, with partial media permissions, Meta’s extensive experimentation with permission flows ensured that “users feel informed about the change and in control of their privacy settings,” while maximizing the functionality of the media sharing app.”
- “… Meta has been able to seamlessly adopt new features of Android 14, such as Foreground Service types, and send timely feedback and bug reports to the Android team, contributing to improvements in the OS.”
End users who immediately upgrade to the latest version of Android benefit from a “smooth day one experience.” They also benefit from the latest OS features, with Google highlighting support for Ultra HDR images on Instagram.
Google has previously praised Meta’s use of Jetpack Compose to speed UI development for Threads. The app was built “from scratch using Compose because it would allow us to move faster than refactoring a large app like Instagram,” which uses Views. In all, 90% of Threads was built using Compose, including the activity feed, navigation, search, profiles, opt-in page, common element transitions, media browser, and settings.
Google wants other developers to do the same, especially with the Android 15 Preview underway and the priority API feedback window open.
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