Google updated its adaptive Compose skill to help developers adapt existing Android apps for laptops, foldable phones, tablets, and other form factors, including the upcoming Googlebook platform. The goal of this update is to help AI coding agents customize apps for different screen sizes and input methods without developers having to maintain separate codebases for different devices.
The new skill goes beyond responsive layouts, adding support for desktop-focused features and foldable-specific interface adjustments. Google is also signaling that adaptive app experiences will be more prominent on Google Play, with the company planning to pay more attention to how apps and games perform on foldable devices next year.
Compose adaptive skill receives desktop and foldable enhancements
Specifically, the new Compose adaptive ability can enable AI agents to look at a current Jetpack Compose app interface and suggest changes that would make it more suitable for desktop use. These include keyboard shortcuts, custom pointer cursors, hover states and tooltips for buttons and other controls.
The skill can also help agents learn the navigation structure of an app, migrate layouts to responsive layouts such as Grid and FlexBox, and manage application state throughout the experience. The goal is to make existing apps work more naturally on larger displays, not just stretching a phone interface to fit a laptop screen.
Foldable devices are another target. The updated skill includes posture-aware optimizations allowing agents to refactor media and camera screens for tabletop layouts. These tweaks could allow interfaces to take better advantage of a foldable’s partially opened state, rather than treating every screen configuration as a conventional smartphone display.
Google says the same adaptive approach can be applied to phones, foldables, Googlebook, tablets, parked cars and XR devices. Developers are able to use the skill, along with Android’s adaptive quality guidelines, to prepare their apps for different device categories.
Google Play to pay more attention to adaptive apps
The update comes as Android moves beyond traditional smartphones to a wider set of form factors. For developers, adapting an existing app to these devices may involve changes to navigation, input handling, and screen layouts. AI coding agents could automate some of that work and take on parts of it.
Google also plans to open more avenues for developers to showcase apps and games that have been optimized for the foldable experience. Google Play will look more closely at how these products run on foldables next year, the company says.
Google hasn’t detailed the specific requirements developers will need to meet for the Play Store, though. It says more details will be available later this year.
Developers are able to now use the updated Compose adaptive skill and follow Google’s adaptive quality guidelines for apps. Developers preparing their games for the growing variety of Android devices can refer to the separate adaptive games guidelines.
