Google has announced Android Studio 2.0, the company's second major upgrade to its integrated development environment (IDE). This version adds a faster Android emulator along with a feature called, Instant Run.
The latest update isn't available to every developer, but it is possible to a get a preview taste of the features via the Canary channel right now.
Google released Android Studio 1.0 in December 2014 after a two-year development period. The company has released five new versions over the past year, the latest version being released just last week. It's worth noting that version 1.5 is a stable release while version 2.0 should be viewed as a preview build that may have bugs.
According to a statement from Stephanie Cuthbertson, group product manager for Android Studio, Android Studio 2.0 is all about speed and stability. The new version should be at least 2.5 times faster than the previous.
"For the IDE to be delightful, it doesn't just have to be stable — but amazingly stabled," she said.
Still, speed might not be the reason for developers to get excited. With the Instant Run feature, developers can see the results of changes made to code instantly. This can be done on both the physical device and emulator almost immediately in similar ways when writing HTML.
All new projects created with Android Studio 2.0 will work with Instant Run automatically while those running in support of Ice Cream Sandwich or later can be modified to support the feature.
Google has also highlighted its newest GPU profiler tool that allows developers to record OpenGL sessions in their entirety, along with viewing changes as they occur on a frame-by-frame basis. Such a tool could be powerful in the hunt for performance issues, especially for developers who build apps that are graphic intensive.
There are still a large number of Android developers who are still playing around with old tools. With Android Studio 2.0 and the feature it brings, this could quickly change.
At the moment, there's no word on when Android Studio 2.0 will be ready for a stable release
