Android 16 will force all apps to use responsive UI, banning rigid designs

Alfonso Maruccia · Thursday at 11:02 AM

Forward-looking: The next version of Android will introduce unprecedented restrictions for app developers. All apps targeting Android 16 must be adaptive, meaning custom UI choices that don't scale properly on larger screens will no longer be allowed.

Google is clearly fed up with developers who ignore adaptability when designing their apps. The tech giant is currently working on Android 16, an operating system set to introduce significant changes to UI orientation and "resizability" for full-screen apps.

According to Google, the global Android ecosystem now includes more than three billion devices, making it more diverse than ever. The mobile OS powers smartphones, foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, car infotainment systems, and more. With this diversity, users expect the apps they download to function seamlessly across all their devices. However, some developers still force their apps to follow rigid, fixed UI paradigms.

Many Android apps are still designed for a single screen orientation or restrict users from resizing the interface. With Android 16, that's set to change. The new OS will enforce a standardized model for adaptive apps, ensuring that every app interface automatically adjusts to different screen sizes and orientations.

Android 16 will begin phasing out manifest attributes and runtime APIs that allow apps to restrict orientation and resizing, Google has confirmed. Initially, these changes will apply only to "larger" screens – devices where the smaller display dimension is at least 600dp. This includes foldable phones, tablets with desktop windowing capabilities, desktop environments, and Chromebooks.

Google provided a list of attributes and APIs that Android 16 (SDK 36) will ignore on larger screens. However, there are exceptions – apps can still enforce UI restrictions on smaller screens or in specific gaming scenarios. To prepare for these changes, Google recommends developers avoid stretched UI components, ensure camera compatibility in both orientations, and preserve app state across different window sizes.

Building fully adaptive apps benefits both developers and users. Google cited FlipaClip as an example of how adaptive UIs can drive growth: after optimizing its app, the company reportedly saw a 54 percent increase in tablet users within four months.

Google also shared a timeline for these API changes. In 2025, Android 16 will include an option to opt out of the new adaptive paradigm. However, by 2026, all apps targeting API level 37 will be required to support larger screens, with no opt-out option.

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Android 16 will force all apps to use responsive UI, banning rigid designs

Axeia · Thursday at 12:53 PM

So my question would be, if in Android 16 I rotate my phone into landscape mode on the home screen... Does it rotate the icons/text?

Or is it rules for thee, not for me?
The Nokia N900 could do this back in 2009 (man I wish the Maemo OS got more love, Android is still trying to catch up to it in some regards 16 years later).

noblody · Thursday at 1:28 PM

Forcing developers to adopt useless changes is Google's specialty. However, when it comes to fixing bugs or implementing basic functionality in the frameworks they push, there is no hurry—four to five years down the road, and issues are still not addressed.

Octane2100 · Thursday at 9:17 PM

Personally I think this is outstanding. I'm sick of trying to find workarounds for apps that wont scale, or that force portrait on my S10 Ultra. This tablet was made for landscape mode and it's a shame when I have apps that are nearly unusable because of forced orientations.

NateMich · 2025-01-31T12:59:41-0500

Axeia said:
So my question would be, if in Android 16 I rotate my phone into landscape mode on the home screen... Does it rotate the icons/text?

Or is it rules for thee, not for me?
The Nokia N900 could do this back in 2009 (man I wish the Maemo OS got more love, Android is still trying to catch up to it in some regards 16 years later).

That's been a thing for a very long time. It's called "Allow Home Screen Rotation" and my Pixel as well as my cheap Chinese phone have always had this.

thewelshbrummie · 2025-02-01T01:36:23-0500

noblody said:
Forcing developers to adopt useless changes is Google's specialty.

This is far from useless, especially for anyone with an Android tablet. There are still apps that basically don't render correctly on my Pixel Tablet. Take Facebook - by default it only works properly in portrait regardless of how I'm holding the tablet, so if holding in landscape then the app is tablet sized. If I use the built-in scaling option, then the content is set as fit-to-width, so you can barely see one item. There are others but that's the most obvious example I can think of (other than apps that are delisted for a tablet when they still work perfectly fine in portrait).

Most apps work pretty well but when the dev just flat-out fails to bother making it work properly, then people will simply buy a device where it will (a common problem on anything that isn't Apple based). I therefore have no issue with Google forcing devs to make apps that scale to the display correctly regardless of physical size or aspect ratio.

noblody · 2025-02-01T07:42:23-0500

thewelshbrummie said:
This is far from useless, especially for anyone with an Android tablet. There are still apps that basically don't render correctly on my Pixel Tablet. Take Facebook - by default it only works properly in portrait regardless of how I'm holding the tablet, so if holding in landscape then the app is tablet sized. If I use the built-in scaling option, then the content is set as fit-to-width, so you can barely see one item. There are others but that's the most obvious example I can think of (other than apps that are delisted for a tablet when they still work perfectly fine in portrait).

Most apps work pretty well but when the dev just flat-out fails to bother making it work properly, then people will simply buy a device where it will (a common problem on anything that isn't Apple based). I therefore have no issue with Google forcing devs to make apps that scale to the display correctly regardless of physical size or aspect ratio.

I understand your perspective, as tablet owner/user. But as a developer, the number of tablets is so low, that it hardly makes sense to spend the time to optimize the layouts. It is not as trivial as google wants us to think. If you look at the image at the top of the article you can see that the phone image displays only a small mart of the wider image. Imagine that all content images should be very wide and all the important info should be at the center in order to make it look beautiful on all formats. Think about applications that already have a lot of content, it is not feasible to redo all the images, so you have to be creative. Each scenario might need special care, special layouts. And the way android makes screen size available to the developer is less than optimal.

Android 16 will force all apps to use responsive UI, banning rigid designs

Alfonso Maruccia

Posts: 1,546 +443

Forward-looking: The next version of Android will introduce unprecedented restrictions for app developers. All apps targeting Android 16 must be adaptive, meaning custom UI choices that don't scale properly on larger screens will no longer be allowed.

Axeia

Posts: 312 +382

noblody

Posts: 183 +243

Octane2100

NateMich

thewelshbrummie

Posts: 35 +18

noblody

Posts: 183 +243

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