Introducing AndroidX: Early Preview of the New Android Support Library

android.* to androidx.* namespace

Android applications rely on two categories of classes: those bound to the operating system such as PackageManager , which may have different APIs and behaviors across Android versions, and those not bound to the OS like AppCompatActivity or ViewModel , which are shipped with the APK and aim to provide a consistent API surface across versions.

Non‑bundled libraries are often preferable because they offer a single API layer across Android versions. This refactoring moves all non‑bundled libraries, including the support libraries and architecture components, into the androidx.* packages so developers can clearly see which dependencies to include.

Package and Maven artifact renaming

The package structure has been redesigned to encourage smaller, more focused libraries and reduce pressure on apps that do not use Proguard or Multidex. Maven groupId s and artifactId s have been updated to better reflect library contents, using the groupId as a prefix to create an obvious link between Maven artifacts and the classes they contain.

Mapping from old to new packages includes:

Old

New

android.support.**

androidx.@

android.databinding.**

androidx.databinding.@

android.design.**

com.google.android.material.@

android.support.test.**

(future) androidx.test.@

Architecture component libraries have also moved under androidx with simplified package names, for example android.arch.persistence.room.** becomes androidx.room.@ and android.arch.persistence.** becomes androidx.sqlite.@ .

Strict semantic versioning

With the AndroidX refactor, library versions reset from 28.0.0 to 1.0.0. Future updates will follow strict semantic versioning, where the major version indicates binary compatibility. This means new features can be added to libraries such as RecyclerView without requiring applications to update every other library they use, and libraries that depend on androidx can reasonably guarantee binary compatibility with future AndroidX releases.

Migrating from 28.0.0‑alpha1

Migration consists of two main parts: source refactoring and dependency conversion. Source refactoring updates Java code, XML resources, and Gradle configuration to reference the new classes and Maven artifacts, and is supported in Android Studio Canary 14 for Android P apps.

If a project depends on libraries that still reference the old support libraries, Android Studio will automatically rewrite those JAR/AAR dependencies (and transitive ones) to reference the new androidx packages using the Android Gradle Plugin 3.2.0‑alpha14. A standalone JAR translation tool is also provided.

What’s next?

The team acknowledges the magnitude of this change and aims to provide a solid foundation for sustainable growth, better modularization, and smaller code size for Android library projects. While the migration may not suit every production timeline, parallel updates to the android.support libraries will continue during the P preview SDK period, following the 28.0.0 versioning scheme and remaining source‑compatible with existing projects.

Stable 28.0.0 releases will be the final versions of the android.support packages; all subsequent feature releases will be delivered as androidx artifacts. Feedback is welcomed via the comment section and bug‑report channels.