If you’re building Android apps with Delphi, there’s exciting news! RAD Studio 12.3 is rolled out support for Android Target API Level 35, aligning with Google’s upcoming requirement for store apps by August 2025. This update ensures your apps stay compliant and ready for the latest Android ecosystem. Let’s dive into what’s new and why it matters.
Table of Contents
What’s New in RAD Studio 12.3 for Android?
RAD Studio 12.3 makes it easier to target API Level 35 with a streamlined update to the Android toolchain. Here’s a quick look at the key changes:
- Updated Android SDK and NDK: The release upgrades the default Android SDK to use Command-line Tools version 16.0 and NDK 27.1.12297006. The Android SDK configuration dialog now automatically sets the right options for you, as shown in the Feature Manager screen.
- Compiler Enhancements: The DCCAARM and DCCAARM64 compilers now pass target emulation to the external linker, ensuring smoother builds. Plus, a new –allow-rosegment option supports backtrace routines (which you can disable if needed).
- Target SDK Version: The targetSdkVersion manifest attribute defaults to 35, keeping your apps in line with Google’s requirements.
- Provisioning Flexibility: You can now set custom provisioning options for the “Development” build type, just like the “Application Store” type. If you don’t specify options, the defaults will kick in.
- Jetpack Core Library Upgrade: The FireMonkey framework now runs on an updated Jetpack Core library, boosting performance and compatibility.
Support for Android 15’s 16 KB Page Sizes
Android 15 introduces support for 16 KB page sizes, and RAD Studio 12.3 has you covered. The update includes a new –max-page-size:<pageSize> option for the DCCAARM and DCCAARM64 compilers:
- DCCAARM: Defaults to a maximum page size of 4096.
- DCCAARM64: Defaults to 16384 to align with Android 15’s needs.
You can also use the {$MAXPAGESIZE <intconst>} directive in your project (.dpr) or package (.dpk) files to configure this. Note that non-Android compilers will ignore this directive, and it won’t work in unit source files. The compiler passes the value to the external linker as an unsigned 64-bit value, but it’s up to the linker to flag any invalid settings.
Why This Matters
With Android’s constant evolution, staying up-to-date with the latest API levels is critical for app store compliance and delivering the best user experience. RAD Studio 12.3 simplifies this process by upgrading the toolchain and adding flexible options for developers. Whether you’re building for development or production, these updates make it easier to create modern, high-performance Android apps with Delphi.
Get Started
Ready to explore RAD Studio 12.3? Check out the updated tools and start building for Android API Level 35 today. For more details, visit Embarcadero’s official site or dive into the documentation.
Happy coding!
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What should Delphi 12.1 Community Edition users do?
I also just received two requirements from Google:
1. Upgrade to a newer version of the Google Play Billing Library by August 31, 2025, or app updates will be rejected.
2. Update the app’s target API level by August 31, 2025, in order to continue publishing updates.
How can we resolve this issue?
Hello, I appreciate your point of view. You should be able to target a newer version of the API level even with 12.1 CE – there are a few posts around in various forums and blogs which describe how to do that. Right now, we are considering our options for a future version of the Community Edition which would typically include a newer Android level but there are a lot of moving parts to making a CE version available so, at this moment, I can’t say for certain when it would be available and what it would contain. So, I’d suggest, for now you try to make your current CE install target the later Android API. That’s going to be the quickest predictable route for you, I think. The other option, and I’m not trying to push this on you, would be to purchase the paid Professional version of Delphi which, of course, would be another way to meet the Google requirements.
I have the pro version but I only see in GetIt package manager an April and a May patch, not a June or July patch. So where is the update for Android Target API Level 35? Should I check customer downloads portal instead?