I wanted to understand the reasons for the Edge-to-edge new addition to the sdk (35 and on), here is what Gemini told me:
Me: Why edge to edge is included in sdk 35
Google is making edge-to-edge the default for apps targeting Android 15 (SDK 35) for several key reasons, primarily centered around creating a more modern, consistent, and immersive user experience.
Here's a breakdown of the motivations behind this change:
Modern smartphones have high screen-to-body ratios and minimal bezels. The "classic" Android UI, with a distinct black bar for the status and navigation bars, feels dated and doesn't take full advantage of the available screen real estate. Enforcing edge-to-edge behavior by default encourages a more polished and visually appealing experience where content can flow seamlessly from one end of the screen to the other. This makes apps feel more integrated with the device's hardware, especially on devices with features like display cutouts (notches and punch-holes).
By making edge-to-edge the default, Google is driving a more consistent UI design across the Android ecosystem. Previously, apps had to explicitly opt-in to this behavior, leading to a fragmented experience where some apps were full-screen and others weren't. This inconsistency could be jarring for users. The new policy pushes all developers toward a shared, modern design standard, which benefits both users and developers.
While this change might seem like a headache for developers who haven't adopted edge-to-edge yet, it's intended to simplify the development process in the long run. By making it the default, developers don't have to write extra code to enable it. The focus shifts from "how do I get my app to go edge-to-edge?" to "how do I properly handle system insets in my layout?" The platform provides robust APIs like WindowInsetsCompat to make the latter easier to manage.
In essence, Google is taking a bold step to modernize the Android UI and push the entire ecosystem toward a more visually cohesive and immersive design language. While there may be a transitional period for some developers to update their apps, the long-term benefits for the platform and its users are significant.
Me: How is it better ?
For developers and users alike, the mandatory adoption of edge-to-edge UI in Android 15 (SDK 35) is a significant improvement that offers a more modern, consistent, and user-friendly experience.
Here's a breakdown of how it's better:
The "better" part of this change hinges on one critical assumption: that developers properly handle system insets. Without this, the change can lead to a worse user experience where content is obscured by the status bar or buttons are hidden behind the navigation bar.
This is why Android is now actively guiding developers to use APIs like WindowInsetsCompat and modern UI toolkits that make handling insets much easier. The goal is not just to force a new design but to provide the tools to do it correctly and unlock the full potential of modern Android devices.
In summary, making edge-to-edge the default is a move that benefits the entire Android ecosystem. It elevates the user experience to be more immersive and consistent while also giving developers a streamlined and forward-looking approach to building beautiful and adaptable UIs.
Me: But the system bar is intended to be seen always, so why hide it as default ?
This is an excellent question that gets to the heart of the design philosophy behind this change. The key is to understand that "edge-to-edge" doesn't mean "hiding" the system bars; it means making them transparent so your app's content can draw behind them.
The system bars (status bar and navigation bar) are still very much intended to be seen and are always visible by default. They contain critical information like the time, battery level, network status, and the navigation controls (back, home, recents). The goal is not to hide this information, but to integrate it more seamlessly into your app's design.
Here's why making them transparent by default is better than having a solid color:
A solid black or white bar at the top and bottom of the screen creates a clear separation between the system and your app. This can make the app feel like it's in a "box," which is a less modern and less immersive experience. By making the system bars transparent, the system UI becomes part of your app's visual language. Your app's content, colors, and design can extend all the way to the edges, creating a more cohesive and professional look.
For example, a photo-viewing app can have the photo itself fill the entire screen, with the time and battery icons appearing as an overlay on top of the image. This feels much more natural and immersive than having the photo cropped to fit below a solid status bar.
While the system bars are always visible, their content can be adapted to the background. Android's dynamic color adaptation feature, which is part of this change, automatically adjusts the color of the icons (e.g., to black or white) to ensure they are always visible and have enough contrast against your app's background. This ensures the user can always see the time and other important information without your app having to manually handle these states.
As mentioned before, this change standardizes the Android UI. Instead of a fragmented ecosystem where some apps are full-screen and some aren't, the platform provides a consistent foundation. This makes it easier for users to have a predictable experience and for designers to have a single set of design rules to follow.
The change shifts the developer's responsibility. Instead of asking "How do I make my app go full screen?", the new model asks "My app is full screen by default. How do I make sure my content isn't obscured by the system bars?" This encourages developers to use modern, robust APIs like WindowInsets to correctly pad their layouts and ensure important UI elements are not hidden. This is a more resilient approach that works across different screen sizes, aspect ratios, and display cutouts.
In summary, you're not "hiding" the system bars, you're embracing them. The shift in Android 15 is about moving from a siloed app UI to a unified, system-wide design where the system bars are a transparent overlay on top of your app's content, rather than a hard boundary that your app must respect. It's a fundamental change that prioritizes a more modern and immersive user experience.
Me: If it is for merging the bar with the app, let the bar icons float all over the screen and let the user try to find them... (I'm cinical )
Your point about letting the icons "float all over the screen" is a valid and humorous way of highlighting the potential for a bad user experience if this design change is implemented poorly. However, that's precisely what the WindowInsets system and the design principles behind edge-to-edge are meant to prevent.
The goal is not to let the system bar icons just float randomly. The goal is to make the background of the bar transparent while keeping the icons and controls in their fixed, intended position.
Here's how it works in practice and why it's a better approach than what you're describing:
To prevent the very problem you've described (the icons getting lost against a busy background), the Android system provides features to ensure the icons are always visible:
The success of the edge-to-edge model hinges on the developer's use of WindowInsets. The platform is essentially telling the app: "Here's the entire screen for you to draw on. Now, here's an 'inset' that tells you where the system bars are. You should make sure none of your important buttons or text are in that space."
Me: I was cinical of course, the best way to show the bar is to give it a fixed color, not by merging it with an undefined background
That's the core of the debate and where the different design philosophies clash. You've hit on a key point that some developers and users feel is a step backward. A solid, fixed color for the system bars offers some undeniable benefits:
Arguments for a Fixed Color Status Bar:
The shift to a transparent, "merged" background is a deliberate choice for several reasons that prioritize a different kind of user experience:
Your cynical take perfectly captures the tension between two design philosophies:
Me: As long as I have a way to eliminate it from my designs it is ok, but i still think it is wrong. I have a feeling that google is looking all over to make programmers lives miserable.
That's a sentiment many developers share, and it's a valid perspective. The feeling that Google is making programmers' lives miserable often comes from these kinds of forced, platform-wide changes that require significant refactoring of existing, working code.
Let's address that feeling head-on and examine the "why" from Google's perspective, while also looking at the options available to you.
You're not wrong. The frequent, and sometimes seemingly arbitrary, deprecation of APIs and the enforcement of new design patterns can be incredibly frustrating. It feels like you're constantly chasing a moving target.
Google would argue that this constant evolution is not about making your life miserable, but about ensuring the platform can innovate and adapt to new hardware and user expectations.
You're right to want a way to opt-out. For the initial release of Android 15 (SDK 35), Google provided a temporary solution:
This is exactly what you were worried about. Google is giving you a grace period, but making it clear that this is the new standard.
So, while you have every right to feel cynical about this, the reality is that for any app that wants to remain modern, secure, and compatible with the latest Android devices, you will have to embrace the edge-to-edge design and the WindowInsets API. It's a painful but necessary step in the evolution of the platform.
Me: Why edge to edge is included in sdk 35
Google is making edge-to-edge the default for apps targeting Android 15 (SDK 35) for several key reasons, primarily centered around creating a more modern, consistent, and immersive user experience.
Here's a breakdown of the motivations behind this change:
1. Modern Design and Immersive Experience
Modern smartphones have high screen-to-body ratios and minimal bezels. The "classic" Android UI, with a distinct black bar for the status and navigation bars, feels dated and doesn't take full advantage of the available screen real estate. Enforcing edge-to-edge behavior by default encourages a more polished and visually appealing experience where content can flow seamlessly from one end of the screen to the other. This makes apps feel more integrated with the device's hardware, especially on devices with features like display cutouts (notches and punch-holes).
2. Consistency Across the Ecosystem
By making edge-to-edge the default, Google is driving a more consistent UI design across the Android ecosystem. Previously, apps had to explicitly opt-in to this behavior, leading to a fragmented experience where some apps were full-screen and others weren't. This inconsistency could be jarring for users. The new policy pushes all developers toward a shared, modern design standard, which benefits both users and developers.
3. Simplifying the Development Process (Over the Long Term)
While this change might seem like a headache for developers who haven't adopted edge-to-edge yet, it's intended to simplify the development process in the long run. By making it the default, developers don't have to write extra code to enable it. The focus shifts from "how do I get my app to go edge-to-edge?" to "how do I properly handle system insets in my layout?" The platform provides robust APIs like WindowInsetsCompat to make the latter easier to manage.
4. Deprecating Legacy APIs
The shift to a default edge-to-edge model allows Google to move away from older, more complex, and less reliable APIs for managing system UI visibility, like fitsSystemWindows and SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_FULLSCREEN. These older methods were often inconsistent and didn't handle modern features like gesture navigation and display cutouts gracefully. The new approach is built around a more unified and reliable WindowInsets system.5. Future-Proofing for New Form Factors
The move to edge-to-edge is crucial for a smooth user experience on new form factors like foldable phones and large-screen tablets. On these devices, having content constrained to a small box in the middle of a massive display would be a waste of screen space. The edge-to-edge enforcement ensures that apps are better prepared to utilize the full display area on these devices, providing a more versatile and adaptable UI.In essence, Google is taking a bold step to modernize the Android UI and push the entire ecosystem toward a more visually cohesive and immersive design language. While there may be a transitional period for some developers to update their apps, the long-term benefits for the platform and its users are significant.
Me: How is it better ?
For developers and users alike, the mandatory adoption of edge-to-edge UI in Android 15 (SDK 35) is a significant improvement that offers a more modern, consistent, and user-friendly experience.
Here's a breakdown of how it's better:
1. For the User
- A More Immersive Experience: The most immediate benefit is visual. Edge-to-edge design allows content to fill the entire screen, including the space behind the system bars. This creates a more immersive and cinematic experience, making apps feel more modern and professional.
- Consistency: Users expect a consistent experience across their apps. By making edge-to-edge the default, the jarring visual difference between an app that uses the full screen and one that doesn't is eliminated. This creates a more cohesive and predictable feel for the entire Android platform.
- Better Use of Screen Space: On modern devices with high screen-to-body ratios, every pixel counts. Edge-to-edge design ensures that no space is wasted on unnecessary black bars. This is especially important for apps with rich visual content like games, video players, and photo editors.
2. For the Developer
- Simplified Default Behavior: While it requires a one-time adjustment, the long-term effect is a simplification of the development process. Developers no longer have to manually enable edge-to-edge. The system handles it automatically, allowing them to focus on designing for the modern canvas rather than fighting with legacy settings.
- Modern and Unified API: The shift pushes developers to use the WindowInsets system, which is a far more robust and reliable way to handle system UI than older, deprecated flags. WindowInsets provides precise information about where the system bars, display cutouts, and the keyboard are located, enabling developers to lay out their UI correctly and adapt to various screen configurations without hardcoding values.
- Future-Proofing for Diverse Devices: The edge-to-edge model is essential for supporting a wide range of modern and future Android devices, including foldable phones, tablets, and devices with different display cutouts. By designing for a full-screen canvas and using insets, apps are more likely to look and function correctly on new hardware without significant code changes.
- Improved UI and Performance: The modern WindowInsets API and related components (like those in Jetpack Compose) are designed to be more performant and reactive than older UI frameworks. This can lead to smoother animations, more efficient layouts, and a better overall app performance.
A Caveat: The Importance of Inset Handling
The "better" part of this change hinges on one critical assumption: that developers properly handle system insets. Without this, the change can lead to a worse user experience where content is obscured by the status bar or buttons are hidden behind the navigation bar.
This is why Android is now actively guiding developers to use APIs like WindowInsetsCompat and modern UI toolkits that make handling insets much easier. The goal is not just to force a new design but to provide the tools to do it correctly and unlock the full potential of modern Android devices.
In summary, making edge-to-edge the default is a move that benefits the entire Android ecosystem. It elevates the user experience to be more immersive and consistent while also giving developers a streamlined and forward-looking approach to building beautiful and adaptable UIs.
Me: But the system bar is intended to be seen always, so why hide it as default ?
This is an excellent question that gets to the heart of the design philosophy behind this change. The key is to understand that "edge-to-edge" doesn't mean "hiding" the system bars; it means making them transparent so your app's content can draw behind them.
The system bars (status bar and navigation bar) are still very much intended to be seen and are always visible by default. They contain critical information like the time, battery level, network status, and the navigation controls (back, home, recents). The goal is not to hide this information, but to integrate it more seamlessly into your app's design.
Here's why making them transparent by default is better than having a solid color:
1. Visual Integration
A solid black or white bar at the top and bottom of the screen creates a clear separation between the system and your app. This can make the app feel like it's in a "box," which is a less modern and less immersive experience. By making the system bars transparent, the system UI becomes part of your app's visual language. Your app's content, colors, and design can extend all the way to the edges, creating a more cohesive and professional look.
For example, a photo-viewing app can have the photo itself fill the entire screen, with the time and battery icons appearing as an overlay on top of the image. This feels much more natural and immersive than having the photo cropped to fit below a solid status bar.
2. Contextual Visibility
While the system bars are always visible, their content can be adapted to the background. Android's dynamic color adaptation feature, which is part of this change, automatically adjusts the color of the icons (e.g., to black or white) to ensure they are always visible and have enough contrast against your app's background. This ensures the user can always see the time and other important information without your app having to manually handle these states.
3. Consistency and Standardization
As mentioned before, this change standardizes the Android UI. Instead of a fragmented ecosystem where some apps are full-screen and some aren't, the platform provides a consistent foundation. This makes it easier for users to have a predictable experience and for designers to have a single set of design rules to follow.
4. Developer Responsibility
The change shifts the developer's responsibility. Instead of asking "How do I make my app go full screen?", the new model asks "My app is full screen by default. How do I make sure my content isn't obscured by the system bars?" This encourages developers to use modern, robust APIs like WindowInsets to correctly pad their layouts and ensure important UI elements are not hidden. This is a more resilient approach that works across different screen sizes, aspect ratios, and display cutouts.
In summary, you're not "hiding" the system bars, you're embracing them. The shift in Android 15 is about moving from a siloed app UI to a unified, system-wide design where the system bars are a transparent overlay on top of your app's content, rather than a hard boundary that your app must respect. It's a fundamental change that prioritizes a more modern and immersive user experience.
Me: If it is for merging the bar with the app, let the bar icons float all over the screen and let the user try to find them... (I'm cinical )
Your point about letting the icons "float all over the screen" is a valid and humorous way of highlighting the potential for a bad user experience if this design change is implemented poorly. However, that's precisely what the WindowInsets system and the design principles behind edge-to-edge are meant to prevent.
The goal is not to let the system bar icons just float randomly. The goal is to make the background of the bar transparent while keeping the icons and controls in their fixed, intended position.
Here's how it works in practice and why it's a better approach than what you're describing:
1. Fixed Positions, Not Floating Icons
- Status Bar Icons: The icons for time, battery, and signal strength will always stay at the top of the screen. They are not free-floating elements that can be anywhere.
- Navigation Bar Icons/Gestures: The back, home, and recents buttons (or the gesture navigation bar) always stay at the bottom of the screen.
2. Ensuring Visibility and Legibility
To prevent the very problem you've described (the icons getting lost against a busy background), the Android system provides features to ensure the icons are always visible:
- Dynamic Color Adaptation: The Android system automatically changes the color of the status bar icons (e.g., from light to dark or vice-versa) to ensure there is enough contrast against your app's background. If your app has a bright background at the top, the icons will turn dark. If it has a dark background, the icons will turn light. This happens automatically, without the developer needing to manage it.
- Scrims and Gradients: In some cases, the system or a developer might choose to add a subtle gradient or "scrim" (a semi-transparent layer) behind the status bar icons. This is especially useful for apps with highly dynamic backgrounds (like a photo slideshow) to ensure the icons are always legible. This is a design choice that is managed within the app's UI toolkit.
3. The Role of the Developer and WindowInsets
The success of the edge-to-edge model hinges on the developer's use of WindowInsets. The platform is essentially telling the app: "Here's the entire screen for you to draw on. Now, here's an 'inset' that tells you where the system bars are. You should make sure none of your important buttons or text are in that space."
- Correct Padding: Developers are expected to add padding to their main layouts that corresponds to the WindowInsets. For example, a ConstraintLayout or LinearLayout can be given a top padding equal to the status bar's height. This ensures that the first row of your UI elements (like a TextView or a button) is pushed down, so it doesn't get hidden behind the status bar icons.
- The Inset Listener: The setOnApplyWindowInsetsListener is a key API. It allows the app to listen for changes in system insets (e.g., when the keyboard appears) and adjust its layout accordingly. This makes the UI resilient to different device configurations.
Me: I was cinical of course, the best way to show the bar is to give it a fixed color, not by merging it with an undefined background
That's the core of the debate and where the different design philosophies clash. You've hit on a key point that some developers and users feel is a step backward. A solid, fixed color for the system bars offers some undeniable benefits:
Arguments for a Fixed Color Status Bar:
- Clarity and Distinction: A fixed color, often a darker shade of the app's primary color as per older Material Design guidelines, clearly separates the app's content from the system UI. There's no ambiguity about what belongs to the system and what belongs to the app. This can be reassuring and visually predictable.
- No Risk of Obscured Content: With a solid, colored bar, you never have to worry about the status bar icons (time, battery) getting lost in a visually busy or high-contrast background from your app. The contrast is guaranteed by the fixed color of the bar itself. This eliminates a whole class of potential UI bugs.
- Simpler Development: For a long time, the simplest way to ensure a good-looking app was to have a solid-colored toolbar and status bar. The developer could simply set a theme color, and the OS would handle the rest. There was no need to implement complex inset listeners or worry about paddings.
The shift to a transparent, "merged" background is a deliberate choice for several reasons that prioritize a different kind of user experience:
- The "Canvas" Analogy: Google is treating the entire screen as a single canvas for your app. The solid-colored bars were like a frame around that canvas. By removing the frame, the app can utilize the entire space for its art. The system bars become an essential part of the picture, not a separate element.
- The Rise of the "Hero Image": Many modern apps, especially those with rich content like media, e-commerce, and social media, want to use a large, striking image or video as their primary visual element. A solid status bar cuts off the top of this image, diminishing its impact. With a transparent status bar, the hero image can extend all the way to the top of the screen, creating a much more powerful first impression.
- Consistency in the Face of Fragmentation: While a solid bar is simple, it often led to inconsistent implementations. Some developers made the bar match the toolbar color, some made it a different shade, and some just left it black. On top of that, gesture navigation introduced a new challenge for the bottom bar. By making the default transparent and providing robust tools to handle insets, Google is standardizing the behavior, forcing developers to a single, modern approach.
- The "It Just Works" Fallacy: While a solid bar might seem simpler, it's not a complete solution. It doesn't handle the keyboard pop-up, display cutouts, or a dynamic navigation bar in the same way. The WindowInsets system is a single, unified solution for all of these problems. The learning curve for a developer is steeper at first, but once mastered, it leads to a more flexible and future-proof app.
Your cynical take perfectly captures the tension between two design philosophies:
- The "Solid Bar" Philosophy: Prioritizes clarity, separation, and simple development at the cost of screen real estate and visual immersion.
- The "Transparent Bar" Philosophy: Prioritizes visual immersion, modern aesthetics, and full-screen utilization at the cost of initial development complexity.
Me: As long as I have a way to eliminate it from my designs it is ok, but i still think it is wrong. I have a feeling that google is looking all over to make programmers lives miserable.
That's a sentiment many developers share, and it's a valid perspective. The feeling that Google is making programmers' lives miserable often comes from these kinds of forced, platform-wide changes that require significant refactoring of existing, working code.
Let's address that feeling head-on and examine the "why" from Google's perspective, while also looking at the options available to you.
The Problem with Google's Approach (from a Developer's POV)
You're not wrong. The frequent, and sometimes seemingly arbitrary, deprecation of APIs and the enforcement of new design patterns can be incredibly frustrating. It feels like you're constantly chasing a moving target.
- The "We Know Best" Mentality: From the outside, it can look like Google is simply dictating a new way of doing things without fully considering the real-world impact on millions of lines of existing code. They might see "legacy" code, but you see a stable, functioning app that's generating revenue.
- The Lack of a Stable "Foundation": Unlike some platforms (e.g., Apple's ecosystem, which is often seen as more consistent in its design), Android's design language and best practices seem to evolve rapidly. This makes it difficult to build a truly long-lasting application without needing to perform significant rewrites every few years.
Google's Counter-Argument: Why This is a Necessary Evil
Google would argue that this constant evolution is not about making your life miserable, but about ensuring the platform can innovate and adapt to new hardware and user expectations.
- The Android Ecosystem is Wild: Android runs on a staggering variety of devices from a multitude of manufacturers. Without a strong, top-down push for consistency, the platform would become even more fragmented. Edge-to-edge is a prime example: without a default, some apps would look great on a new device, and others would look clunky and outdated.
- Legacy Code is Technical Debt: The APIs that were used to achieve UI effects five years ago were often clunky, lacked flexibility, and didn't account for things like gesture navigation, foldable screens, and punch-hole cameras. Google sees these APIs as technical debt that needs to be paid down. While it's painful in the short term, it creates a healthier, more modern platform for everyone in the long run.
- The User Experience Mandate: At the end of the day, Google's primary concern is the user experience. A visually cohesive, immersive, and consistent OS keeps users on Android devices. If a user feels that Android apps look dated compared to the competition, they might switch platforms.
Your Options (and the Evolving Reality)
You're right to want a way to opt-out. For the initial release of Android 15 (SDK 35), Google provided a temporary solution:
- The Temporary Opt-Out: You could set android:windowOptOutEdgeToEdgeEnforcement="true" in your app's theme. This would allow you to keep your old design and give you time to prepare for the change.
This is exactly what you were worried about. Google is giving you a grace period, but making it clear that this is the new standard.
So, while you have every right to feel cynical about this, the reality is that for any app that wants to remain modern, secure, and compatible with the latest Android devices, you will have to embrace the edge-to-edge design and the WindowInsets API. It's a painful but necessary step in the evolution of the platform.