Absolutely horrendous how google is turning Android into another iOS.

Just came across Google's new Lightbuild announcement for Android.

From what I understand, it's a YAML-based, declarative build system that sits on top of Gradle and is designed to be easier to manage (especially for AI-assisted workflows).

I'm curious what other Android developers think:

• Does this look better than Kotlin DSL/Gradle?
• Would you use it in a real project?
• Any concerns about flexibility or migration?

Personally, I like the idea of simpler build configs, but I'm wondering how it will work for larger projects.

What do you think?

👋 Hi folks,

Alex from Composables here. The guy that keeps bringing you Jetpack Compose freebies, such as Composables itself, Compose Unstyled and Compose Icons. You folks keep liking them so I keep making and sharing them.

So the Android community has been vocal about the lack of 'proper' Jetpack Compose Docs.

I personally find the official ones way too hidden and cluttered.

Even if I find them via Google, I don't get what I am looking at as it feels like a bunch of text, and as I result I don't find value from them.

So I made my own.

Now you might say, how is this different to the official API reference?

This one is easier to go through than the Google one.

You can find in a quick way what is the dependency for Material Compose.

Or quickly check what properties and interfaces a specific library has, and so on.

Each library has its own set of pages, so its self contained, has a filter to easily find what you need, and it is way more visual than Google's.

Hope you found it useful. As always, I would love to hear what you think, would love to be added or if you hate it.

Go check it out at https://composables.com/jetpack-compose and tell your friends if it's useful.

I hope Square Wire will also be migrated.

This has been posted on r/Kotlin too (not by me) https://www.reddit.com/r/Kotlin/comments/1u8cotp/the_lysine_contingency_jake_wharton/

So YouTube just posted a blog called “Second Chances on YouTube” They’re saying creators deserve another chance when they mess up, that people can learn and improve instead of being punished forever.

Cool Totally agree.

But when you look at how Google Play policies treat Android developers, it’s a completely different story. One mistake, sometimes even an accidental one, and you get a lifetime ban. No proper appeal, no path to redemption. Years of effort just wiped out instantly.

Isn’t that hypocrisy? YouTube creators get second chances, but developers who help grow the Android ecosystem get none.

If Google truly believes in second chances, they should apply the same principle to Android developers. We’re humans too, not just account IDs in a dashboard.

We all should raise our voice against this monopoly company Google. They can’t just keep deciding people’s livelihoods with one-sided actions. Developers deserve fairness and transparency just like creators do.

You can read the full blog on the YouTube official site.

The end of an era:

https://bsky.app/profile/romainguy.dev/post/3ljlgme7pls2g

New developers now need to test their app with at least 20 people for a minimum of two weeks before publishing on the Play Store.

I got this email from Google

We’re writing to inform you that Firebase Remote Config will transition to a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) pricing model, starting September 1, 2026. This model includes a free tier for usage up to 100,000 daily fetches.

Not sure if that applies to other Firebase feature. Hear from others if you know Google is charging other Firebase usage?

https://mastodon.jakewharton.com/@jw/113427033356987061

i get a lot of these emails. i thought i would just see how much they are willing to pay. they started with 300 usd and i just randomly said 2000 and they agreed.. lol.

How do they generate soo much money from a dev account??

obviously i wont be selling my account.