The easing of Material You restrictions with Android 13 will bring a sigh of relief to app developers
A Google spokesperson told Android Police that it will lift the allowlist that restricts Material You from being accessible to more manufacturers. Moreover, the company is also easing its strict policy that requires all OEMs to use Material You on Android 12. A report in February claimed that Google would mandate the adoption of Material You for Google Mobile Services (GMS) licensing. This meant that manufacturers intending to use Android 12 and core Google services such as the Play Store would have to utilize Material You theming. Based on the latest report, it seems like Google will start making things much easier for both OEMs and app developers. The company has officially changed the aforementioned GMS licensing terms, thus offering more flexibility to device manufacturers. Moreover, Google is placing minimal restrictions or standards for devices that plan to use Material You. Google will also remove the Material You library allowlist in its entirety from Android 13. This information is based on the project’s GitHub page. The company would also set up multiple automated tests that could ascertain if Material You has been used appropriately. “To enable vendors to participate in the Material You from day 1, we work with vendors individually to implement and verify Material You, then enable Material You for them using this allowlist. Vendors can reach out to Android Partner Engineering to start this process,” a Google spokesperson told Android Police. “This ensures that vendors don’t accidentally create colors that affect legibility, and that developers and users can expect a consistent experience with Material You. In Android 13, automated testing of color schemes will allow a different strategy.”
Android 13 Beta 3.2 made its way to compatible devices last week
Material You adoption has been relatively slow among developers. The easing of restrictions is a crucial first step towards rectifying that. Google clearly wants Material You to expand more widely. In its current form, it remains limited to Pixel phones or a select few flagship devices. Google rolled out Android 13 Beta 3.2 last week, bringing a series of bug fixes to the table. The latest beta release fixes an issue wherein the back gesture would be non-functional in some apps. A bug that led to some apps crashing after they were opened has also been fixed with the update.
