Today the Android 4.0.3 Platform and updated SDK tools were released for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This release includes not only many optimizations but also bug fixes for phones and tablets. The API level is now 15 with a few added API’s for developers.
New API’s in Android 4.0.3 Include:
- Social stream API in Contacts provider: Applications that use social stream data such as status updates and check-ins can now sync that data with each of the user’s contacts, providing items in a stream along with photos for each. This new API lets apps show users what the people they know are doing or saying, in addition to their photos and contact information.
- Calendar provider enhancements. Apps can now add color to events, for easier tracking, and new attendee types and states are now available.
- New camera capabilities. Apps can now check and manage video stabilization and use QVGA resolution profiles where needed.
- Accessibility refinements. Improved content access for screen readers and new status and error reporting for text-to-speech engines.
- Incremental improvements in graphics, database, spell-checking, Bluetooth, and more.
You can get the new SDK by downloading it through your Android SDK Manager or going to http://developer.android.com.
Keep in mind that the Android SDK is always improving and updating to newer more stable versions all the time. In order to stay up to date you will need to visit the site linked above to find the new version. Of course it will be updated periodically for ICS but an entirely new version of the SDK will be available when Android Jelly Bean is released. Take note that when the newer versions are released the old ones will still work although newer devices may not be able to run the apps that you release.
UPDATE: They have already updated the Android SDK since writing this article and it has only been a few weeks. This being said the new features list would be impossible for us to keep up with so visit Android’s Developer site via the link in the middle of this article to get the latest SDK.