17 Sep 2026

feedAndroid Developers Blog

Introducing the AndroidX Security State Libraries: A Unified View of Device Security

Posted by Maunik Shah, Staff Software Engineer, Alec Garcia, Software Engineer, and Joseph Yong, Technical Program Manager



At Android, we are constantly working to provide developers and enterprise partners with the data they need to keep devices protected. Today, we're thrilled to announce the stable release of the AndroidX Security State version 1.1.0 and Security State Provider version 1.0.0 libraries which provides a centralized mechanism designed to bring further transparency to the comprehensive security posture and pending updates across the Android ecosystem.

Whether you develop security-critical, consumer-facing apps (such as banking, fintech, or healthcare) or Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions, these libraries enable you to programmatically verify the security state of the device per component. Rather than relying on a coarse, monolithic Security Patch Level (SPL), you can evaluate true component-level protection and whether remediations are actively pending via the androidx.security.state library. For OEMs and Over-The-Air (OTA) client developers, the companion androidx.security.state.provider library allows you to expose update availability via standardized mechanisms.

Understanding Security Patch Levels (SPL)

As Android has evolved to deliver rapid, independent component updates through modular systems like Google Play system updates, relying on a single SPL build property is no longer the best way to determine a device's true security posture. To provide component level visibility, the Security State libraries provide APIs for three distinct patch levels:
  • Device SPL (DSPL): The security patch level currently installed and running on the device for specific system components, queried from device properties and configs without network calls.
  • Published SPL (PSPL): The latest patch level officially published in the Android Security Bulletin for those components.
  • Available SPL (ASPL): The patch level ready to be downloaded and installed on the specific device, queried asynchronously via inter-process communication (IPC) with on-device update clients.

The Security State libraries track these patch levels across the following components:
  • System: The core Android operating system, updated via standard/OEM system OTA updates.
  • System modules: Modular OS subsystems updated seamlessly in the background via Google Play system updates (Project Mainline).
  • Kernel: The foundational layer connecting the device's hardware and software, evaluated via Long-Term Support (LTS) release versions (such as 5.15.159 or 6.1.91) rather than monthly calendar dates.
By surfacing these three distinct patch levels at the component level, developers and enterprises can now understand exactly how secure a device is, identify missing patches, and take proactive remediation steps. One way of doing so can be seen in the example below.


Rather than taking an all-or-nothing approach to device access, developers and enterprises can combine DSPL, PSPL, and ASPL to make smart, contextual security decisions. For example, a banking or enterprise app can compare a device's current security patch (DSPL) against pending updates (ASPL) before initiating sensitive workflows like high-value payments or credential enrollment. If an update is waiting to be installed, developers and enterprises can require the user to update their device first. For even finer control, developers and enterprises can query whether specific high-risk vulnerabilities (CVEs) have been patched on the device, such as verifying that critical NFC or Bluetooth fixes are in place before authorizing tap-to-pay or proximity data sharing.

High-level flow

For app developers and enterprise management

Client applications can use the androidx.security.state library to make informed, context-aware decisions:
  • Synchronous Posture Checks (DSPL): Apps can immediately inspect the installed patch levels of the system, system modules, and kernel on app launch and compare with PSPL to verify whether the device meets an organization's required security baseline before unlocking sensitive corporate resources or biometric access.
  • Pending Update Prompting (ASPL): Instead of immediately blocking an employee whose device is slightly behind on patches, enterprise apps can query ASPL to check if a pending system update or Google Play system update is staged and ready to install. If so, apps can display tailored in-app guidance directing the user to System Settings to complete the installation.
  • Vulnerability-Level Auditing (CVEs): For high-assurance use cases, the library provides ability to download device-specific vulnerability reports from Open Source Vulnerabilities (OSV) to programmatically audit whether specific, critical CVEs have been resolved on the device.

For OEMs & update clients: Standardizing update availability

The companion androidx.security.state.provider library establishes a standardized, Android IPC mechanism for update clients to report update availability directly on the device. Historically, even if proprietary OTA clients surfaced update availability, this information was siloed and not queryable by third-party applications. Going forward, apps can access ASPL details through a single, unified API, regardless of whether the update is delivered via an OEM's dedicated OTA client or Google Play, as long as it is provided by the update client.
  • Google Play system updates already expose ASPL across GMS Android devices.
  • Google Over-The-Air (GOTA) has also been onboarded and we are working with OEMs worldwide to onboard their OTA clients to this standardized framework.

Incorporating bulletin-level data

Beyond a single SPL string, the Security State libraries provide clarity on what that patch level actually means for the device. By integrating with the Open Source Vulnerabilities (OSV) database to obtain Android Security Bulletin data, the libraries can look deeper than ever before. Instead of just asking if a specific threat, such as a CVE entry, is blocked, this data also allows the libraries to provide the "effective" and granular security state of the device.

Here are two ways this approach benefits enterprises and Android OEMs:

  • Sometimes, a monthly security update does not contain any new threats for a specific component. In this case, the libraries automatically increments the security level for that component to reflect its "effective" security state. This ensures that a device is accurately credited for being fully protected against all known security threats.
  • A new feature introduced in Android 17 allows OEMs to declare specific security fixes that have been applied above the SPL via a Supplemental Patches XML file. This feature allows OEMs who backport specific security fixes to immediately prove device compliance without having to wait for a full monolithic SPL bump, ensuring continuous patching efforts are properly credited. The Security State libraries surface this granular information to apps and services, ensuring that continuous patching efforts are recognized the moment they are implemented.

Get started

The Security State Libraries are built to empower the entire Android ecosystem.

We value your feedback! Please try out the libraries and let us know your thoughts or report any issues on the public Android Issue Tracker.

17 Sep 2026 7:00pm GMT

Android Bench 2.0: Pushing the frontier with challenging long-horizon tasks

Posted by Matthew McCullough, VP, Product Management, Android Developer





When we first launched Android Bench, we built a rigorous foundation for evaluating how large language models (LLMs) assist developers with real-world Android tasks. As AI models and agents rapidly evolve, we've been updating our methodology, such as aligning our benchmark framework with the Harbor framework. Today we're releasing the first set of long-horizon tasks (LHT), which are tasks of great complexity that take an engineer multiple days or even a week to complete. We are also introducing agentic evaluation, starting with agents from corresponding model providers. This addition brings us to Android Bench 2.0-a major upgrade designed to evaluate AI models and agents against the scale, ambiguity, and complex multi-step problem solving that you tackle every day.


The Android Bench 2.0 leaderboard

From incremental fixes to long-horizon tasks

The first iteration of Android Bench, along with similar early AI coding benchmarks, focused on incremental changes to existing repositories, in many cases limited to bug fixes or smaller feature requests. This was a reflection of the capabilities of AI assistance at the time, as well as how you were using it.

To continue helping you find the models and coding agents best suited to your development workflow, we have raised the bar of our evaluations to match the work you delegate to AI. Android Bench 2.0 mirrors these ambitious challenges with LHTs that include upgrading dependencies, adding new features, building apps from scratch, or converting a cross-platform app to Android.

Complex tasks require a more nuanced evaluation and scoring

On multi-day engineering tasks, binary pass or fail grading doesn't capture the full picture.

For example, an agent might refactor 40 screens to Jetpack Compose, set up database tables, and pass 90% of requirements, but fail a single edge-case assertion. Binary scoring rates this run as 0%, obscuring the model's architectural capabilities. We are moving to continuous scoring to provide a more meaningful signal, both for model development and for your understanding of how AI can help you.

We calculate this completion rate through a combination of factors like functionality, visual fidelity, and avoiding regressions. We also apply objective scoring penalties for deviations from evaluation instructions or structural constraints. Check out the updated leaderboard and click into each model's card view to see additional elements such as the pass rate, completion rate, and average costs per model and per task.

The highest pass rate for LHTs is around 28%, much lower than the ~91% for the original tasks in the benchmark.

The model card view allows you to explore the strengths and pitfalls of each model

Long-horizon tasks uncover helpful insights for AI assistance

Beyond measuring how well AI handles long-running tasks, the LHT dataset helps us learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of tested models, and we offer you more practical guidance.

Across model tiers, AI does a better job at writing new code rather than refactoring existing code. Refactors and migrations get trickier because success depends on architectural complexity rather than code volume.

Models show strong capabilities on well-established, deterministic transformations, such as converting Java to Kotlin, swapping Retrofit for Ktor, or introducing a ViewModel layer. They apply these patterns consistently, even across 125+ files and 8,000+ lines of code.

However, models struggle when tasks require runtime validation (like missing dependency injection graphs), involve breaking framework changes, or run into knowledge gaps with unreleased libraries. Porting cross-platform apps to Android remains an open challenge-no model hits a 100% pass rate, and frontier models reach at most a 80% completion rate.

Introducing agent evaluations

To help you get a better sense of how models perform when integrated into your agentic workflows, we are adding commonly used agents into our evaluation. We're starting by running new models against LHTs with agents from the corresponding model provider. For example, we ran GPT 5.6 Sol on Codex, and Gemini 3.8 Flash on Google Antigravity. This pairing shows how harness design positively impacts developer outcomes, as we've seen prompt caching and compact tool windowing can result in token reductions.

We'll be expanding this in the future by also highlighting results across various model and agent combinations, to help you discover which combinations work best for you and your team.

We invest in this measurement because it's important for you to be able to use your agent and model of choice for Android development, and we'll have more to share with you in the coming weeks.

New models added

In addition, we are continuing to expand our leaderboard to ensure you have the most up-to-date data for your development decisions. We added Gemini 3.8 Flash, Gemini 3.7 Flash, OpenAI's GPT-6, Anthropic's Fable 5.1, Kimi K3, and Qwen 3.8 Max, with OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra at the top with a 28% pass rate.

Looking ahead

Android Bench 2.0 delivers a robust environment for measuring AI for Android development. By combining long-horizon tasks, multimodal evaluation, agents, and continuous scoring, we hope to empower AI research teams to build more capable, dependable AI coding partners, and we hope to provide you with more transparency about your options for AI development.

Check out the updated leaderboard along with the updated methodology. Your feedback directly influences how we evolve Android Bench, so please continue to share your feedback with us on GitHub, as well as our social channels like X and LinkedIn.


17 Sep 2026 2:06pm GMT

09 Sep 2026

feedAndroid Developers Blog

Introducing Fast and Reliable Wireless Debugging with Android Debug Bridge (ADB) Wi-Fi 2.0

Posted by Steven Jenkins, Product Manager, Sherif Eid, Senior Software Engineer, and Fabien Sanglard, Staff Software Engineer, Android Studio



Wireless debugging on Android is now faster, more reliable, and easier to set up than ever. With ADB Wi-Fi 2.0, we've introduced a new server stack and smarter network handling to directly address developer feedback around usability gaps.

How ADB Wi-Fi 2.0 Improves Wireless Debugging

To ensure ADB Wi-Fi 2.0 is even more reliable, we reworked all three core components of the stack: the adb server, the adbd daemon, and Android Studio.

Here are the new features:

With ADB Wi-Fi 2.0, auto-connection success rates improved by 32% and connection speeds increased by 66% for 90% of connections.

Getting Started

You can use ADB Wi-Fi 2.0 on your phone, tablet, Wear OS, and TV. Here's how to get started:

  1. Update to Android 17, Android SDK Platform-Tools 37.0.0, and Android Studio Quail 3 or later.
  2. Ensure your workstation and your Android device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
  3. On your device, navigate to Developer Options and enable Wireless debugging.
  4. Open the Android Studio Device Manager and click the pair over Wi-Fi icon.
  5. Scan the QR code with your device or use a pairing code, and you're all set!

For more information, see the documentation or watch the presentation at Android Makers by droidcon 2026.

As always, we appreciate any feedback. If you find a bug or issue, please report it. Also, you can be part of our vibrant Android developer community on LinkedIn, YouTube, or X.

09 Sep 2026 4:00pm GMT