*April 2009*

The Android 1.5 platform introduces many new features for users and developers.
The list below provides an overview of the changes.

- [User Interface Refinements](https://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-1.5-highlights#ui)
- [Performance Improvements](https://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-1.5-highlights#perf)
- [New Features](https://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-1.5-highlights#features)
- [New APIs and Manifest Elements](https://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-1.5-highlights#apis)

## User Interface Refinements

- System-wide:
  - Refinement of all core UI elements
  - Animated window transitions (off by default)
  - Accelerometer-based application rotations
- UI polish for:
  - In-call experience
  - Contacts, Call log, and Favorites
  - SMS \& MMS
  - Browser
  - Gmail
  - Calendar
  - Email
  - Camera \& Gallery
  - Application management

## Performance Improvements

- Faster Camera start-up and image capture
- Much faster acquisition of GPS location (powered by SUPL AGPS)
- Smoother page scrolling in Browser
- Speedier GMail conversation list scrolling

## New Features

- On-screen soft keyboard
  - Works in both portrait and landscape orientation
  - Support for user installation of 3rd party keyboards
  - User dictionary for custom words
- Home screen
  - Widgets
    - Bundled home screen widgets include: analog clock, calendar, music player, picture frame, and search
  - Live folders
- Camera \& Gallery
  - Video recording
  - Video playback (MPEG-4 \& 3GP formats)
- Bluetooth
  - Stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP and AVCRP profiles)
  - Auto-pairing
  - Improved handsfree experience
- Browser
  - Updated with latest Webkit browser \& Squirrelfish Javascript engines
  - Copy 'n paste in browser
  - Search within a page
  - User-selectable text-encoding
  - UI changes include:
    - Unified Go and Search box
    - Tabbed bookmarks/history/most-visited screen
- Contacts
  - Shows user picture for Favorites
  - Specific date/time stamp for events in call log
  - One-touch access to a contact card from call log event
- System
  - New Linux kernel (version 2.6.27)
  - SD card filesystem auto-checking and repair
  - SIM Application Toolkit 1.0
- Google applications (not available in the Android 1.5 System Image that is included in the Android SDK)
  - View Google Talk friends' status in Contacts, SMS, MMS, GMail, and Email applications
  - Batch actions such as archive, delete, and label on Gmail messages
  - Upload videos to Youtube
  - Upload photos on Picasa

## New APIs and Manifest Elements

- UI framework
  - Framework for easier background/UI thread interaction
  - New [SlidingDrawer](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/SlidingDrawer) widget
  - New [HorizontalScrollview](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/HorizontalScrollView) widget
- AppWidget framework
  - APIs for creating secure home screen [AppWidgets](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/appwidget/package-summary). For information about how to use AppWidgets, see the Developer's Guide [AppWidgets](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets) documentation. Also see [Introducing home screen widgets and the AppWidget
    framework](http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/04/introducing-home-screen-widgets-and.html) on the Android Developer's Blog.
  - APIs for populating [Live Folders](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/LiveFolders) with custom content.
- Media framework
  - Raw audio recording and playback APIs
  - Interactive MIDI playback engine
  - [Video Recording APIs](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/MediaRecorder) for developers (3GP format).
  - Video and photo sharing Intents
  - Media search Intent
- Input Method framework
  - [Input Method
    Service](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/inputmethodservice/InputMethodService) framework
  - Text-prediction engine
  - Ability to provide downloadable IMEs to users
- Application-defined hardware requirements Applications can now use a new element in their manifest files, [\<uses-
  configuration\>](https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-configuration-element) to indicate to the Android system what hardware features
  they require in order to function properly. For example, an application might
  use the element to specify that it requires a physical keyboard or a particular
  navigation device, such as a trackball. Prior to installing the application, the
  Android system checks the attributes defined for the
  `<uses-configuration>` element and allows the installation to
  continue only if the required hardware is present.

- Speech recognition framework
  - Support for using speech recognition libraries via Intent. See [RecognizerIntent](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/speech/RecognizerIntent).
- Miscellaneous API additions
  - LocationManager - Applications can get location change updates via Intent
  - WebView - Touch start/end/move/cancel DOM event support
  - Redesigned [Sensor Manager
    APIs](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/hardware/SensorManager)
  - GLSurfaceView - convenience framework for creating OpenGL applications
  - Broadcast Intent for app update install succeeded - for smoother app upgrade experience