Even though Google tried to make apps work better on tablets with Android 3.0, it didn’t quite work out. Today, many apps still don’t look good on large screens like foldable phones or tablets.
Google made a big push with Android 12L to help apps look better on these devices. They’ve been working on making their apps look good on big screens and encouraging other developers to do the same. This makes everything from games to productivity apps more enjoyable on larger devices.
With Android 16 and Android 17, Google is taking even bigger steps. In Android 16 Beta 1, they’ve started to remove limits that let developers lock apps into just one size or view. By the time Android 17 rolls out, these limits will be completely gone, meaning developers must make their apps fit any screen size or shape.
Google has made it clear in their latest blog that with Android 17, apps can’t stay stuck in one view like portrait mode. Developers will need to follow Google’s design tips to make sure apps look good on any device. If they don’t, apps might stretch awkwardly across the screen, which won’t look nice.
Android 16 is set to launch in the second quarter of 2025, and Android 17 will follow in 2026. By then, apps will have to work well in both landscape and portrait modes, without those ugly black bars around the sides. An example is FlipaClip, an animation app that saw a huge increase in users after updating for bigger screens.
Google also shared ways for developers to check how their apps look on different devices using tools like Espresso and Jetpack Compose. This testing helps ensure apps are ready for any screen size.
With these changes, we can expect apps to look and work much better on foldable phones and tablets. They’ll handle split-screen views, full-screen, or even window modes smoothly. For Samsung users, this means apps will look fantastic in DeX mode, where apps open in windows, making everything from work to play more seamless on Galaxy devices.
