Episode notes
In this episode, Chet and Romain speak with Ken Russell and Corentin Wallez from the WebGPU team. WebGPU is a new API that brings modern GPU rendering and compute functionality to web and other platforms (including Android!). We talk about the genesis and capabilities of WebGPU, WGSL (WebGPU's new shading language), the state of WebGL (the predecessor API for web GPU rendering), and lots of other fun related graphics topics. Ken, Romain, and Chet (not pictured: Corentin, who is on the monitor behind the photographer) Links: Samples (and its github repo ) Google I/O Codelab Google I/O…
Android Developers Backstage
by Android Developers · English · Tech & Science
Android Backstage, a podcast by and for Android developers. Hosted by developers from the Android engineering team, this show covers topics of interest to Android programmers, with in-depth discussions and interviews with engineers on the Android team at Google. Subscribe to Android Developers…
More from Android Developers Backstage
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21 Dec 2023 · 58 min
Episode 203: (W)rap
In this episode, Tor, Romain, and Chet talk about some of the many things that happened this year in the world of Android development, including new devices and form factors, tool improvements, AndroidX features and libraries, and Jetpack Compose releases. And any tech podcast would be remiss without mentioning AI/ML, so we talk about that too. Tor, Romain and Chet Chapters: Intro (00:00) Google engineers vs Android (00:57) Big changes of 2023 intro (3:03) AI (3:38) Programming with AI (5:08) Writing with AI (8:52) New devices from Android - Pixel fold (12:31) Pixel watch (18:50) Bard…
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1 Nov 2023 · 54 min
Episode 202: AndroidX, Gradle and Metalava
In this episode, Tor and Romain chat with Aurimas Liutikas from the AndroidX team. Topics include performance tuning the AndroidX Gradle builds using configuration caching, local caching and remote caching, as well as tracking API compatibility using the Metalava tool. Aurimas, Romain and Tor Romain: @romainguy , threads.net/@romainguy , romainguy@androiddev.social Tor: threads.net/@tor.norbye and tornorbye@androiddev.social Aurimas: androiddev.social/@Aurimas and www.liutikas.net/blog-posts Catch videos on YouTube → https://goo.gle/adb-podcast Subscribe to Android Developers →…
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21 Sep 2023 · 45 min
Episode 201: Firebase in Android Studio
In this episode, Tor and Romain chat with Greg Baker and Joe Baker-Malone about exciting new Android Studio features made possible by Firebase integration. Physical device streaming allows you to connect remotely to physical devices hosted in Google's secure data centers and use them for all your development needs. We also explore other time saving features like the ability to go from a crash report directly to the correct line of code, even across git branches. Tor, Romain, Joe, Greg Links: Android Device Streaming from Android Studio feedback form App Quality Insights and Firebase…
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18 Jul 2023 · 1 hr 2 min
Episode 199: Compose performance
This time, Romain, Tor, and Chet talk with Leland Richardson, George Mount, and Chuck Jazdzewski from the Jetpack Compose team about performance. The team has been looking at performance issues recently and discusses what they've found, what gotchas lie in wait for library developers, what tools and compilers can magically handle for you... and what they can't. Tune in to learn about why we worry about autoboxing (and why you probably shouldn't). Foreground: Romain, Tor, George, and Chuck Background (on the monitor): Chet, Leland, and Cody (audio engineer/producer), plus another view of the…
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26 Jun 2023 · 44 min
Episode 198: Location location location, revisited
Since our original episode on location nearly nine years ago, a lot has happened in the location support for Android. In this episode, Wyatt Riley and Roy Want answer all of Tor's questions about how it works and cover recent developments like indoor location, elevation, and some tips for developers. Wyatt, Roy and Tor. Links: Getting started guide Precise indoor location Wi-Fi Alliance(WFA) : Wi-Fi Location(TM) demonstrated at a recent WFA member event Android Developer resources for Wi-Fi RTT (IEEE 802.11mc) Location Google Play Store has three apps that demonstrate Wi-Fi RTT (IEEE…
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17 May 2023 · 46 min
Episode 197: Studio Bot
You saw it at Google I/O - now you can hear about it in the comfort of your own headphones! Tor, Romain, and Chet talk with Siva Velusamy and Sandhya Mohan from the Android Studio team about the just-launched Studio Bot. This new AI-powered assistant enables conversational queries in the IDE to help with coding, commenting, confusion, or if you just need a friend. Chet, Tor, Romain, Sandhy, and Siva in the Sunnyvale studio Studio Bot: https://goo.gle/3BBEKZI Subscribe to Android Developers YouTube → https://goo.gle/AndroidDevs
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5 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 17 min
Android AI Tools: Vibe coding, sub-agents, and the Android CLI
Learn how the latest Android Studio AI features can streamline your daily development tasks. While the original agent mode chat was helpful, we rebuilt it with a re-architected experience that supports parallel tool calls and background sub-agents. For instance, you can now have an agent analyze code in the background while you continue working on a different feature. Try out the updated Journeys feature to see how plain text instructions can automatically test your critical user paths. Subscribe to our YouTube channel → https://goo.gle/AndroidDevs Speakers: Tor Norbye, Chet Haase, Xavier…
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29 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
The inside story of Jetpack Compose
Discover the origin story of Jetpack Compose and how it changed the way Android developers build applications. We discuss the original challenges of unbundling the UI toolkit from the operating system to deliver faster updates. By adopting Kotlin and a declarative approach, the team reduced the boilerplate necessary to build user interfaces. While earlier systems relied heavily on XML, Jetpack Compose shifts to a code-first model for easier iteration. Listen to the team share their insights on modifiers, performance improvements, and the future of Android design. Resources: Android is…
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18 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
What's so great about R8?
Join hosts Tor and Romain as they sit down with Søren Gjesse, Chris Craik, and Shai Barack. This week, the team dives into R8, the whole-program optimizer that handles the "last mile" of your code before it runs on a device. Learn why implementing R8 is effectively like giving your users a "free hardware upgrade" by making their current devices perform like models that are years newer. Enable app optimization → https://goo.gle/R8-Optimizer Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 0:23 - What is R8? 1:16 - R8 vs D8 1:40 - Tree Shaking & Dead Code 4:14 - Handling Reflection 10:10 - Performance Co-Optimization…
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14 Jan 2026 · 44 min
XR: Virtually here
Join hosts Tor, Chet, and Romain as they sit down with Diego Perez (Android Studio) and Patrick Fuentes (Developer Relations) to explore the new frontiers of Android XR. This episode of Android Developers Backstage breaks down the latest announcements and Developer Preview 3, offering a technical look at how developers can start building for spatial environments today. Resources: Hello Android XR sample → https://goo.gle/3Nbnrre Build for AI Glasses with the Android XR SDK Developer Preview 3 → https://goo.gle/49lUjGr Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 4:42 - Latest announcements 5:46 - AI Glasses 8:28…
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