UI Framework Changes in Android 1.5

Along with some sweet changes and new features in Android 1.5 there are some changes to the UI framework that may affect some applications. In fact, Android 1.5 brings a new default look to the overall Android UI framework.

Buttons and checkboxes have a new design and though it doesn't change the overall binary/source compatibility, it may break the UI of your application. To quote Google:

For instance, Android 1.1 buttons have a minimum size of 44x48 pixels whereas Android 1.5 buttons now have a minimum size of 24x48 pixels. If you rely on the button's minimum size, then the layout of your application may not be the same in Android 1.5 as it was in Android 1.1 because of this change.

Luckily, Google offers a solution to this potential problem:

This layout could easily be fixed by using the android:layout_weight attribute or by replacing theLinearLayout containers with a TableLayout.

It looks like developers can easily accommodate for this design change and we think it definitely looks more polished. What do you guys think?

Hit the jump to see more pictures of the design changes in Android 1.5

[android developers blog]