Google has released a blog post praising ART, the Android runtime, for its new capability to be updated separately from the main Android operating system.
ART is responsible for compiling and executing Kotlin and Java code. Google has made updates to ART that have resulted in faster app speeds, even without a complete OS upgrade. The Android 13 version of ART has led to significant improvements in app start-up times, with some devices experiencing up to a 30% improvement.
In Android 12, ART has been made a modular part of the OS known specifically for APEX modules. This allows for updates to be downloaded in the Play Store rather than requiring a full system update.
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Approximately 31 percent of users, which equates to around 600 million users, now have access to a more advanced and efficient app engine. Of all the components that have transitioned to APEX modules, the company has highlighted ART to be the largest, containing a significantly higher number of APIs compared to “any other APEX module.”
Google has implemented versioning for ART as if it were a significant software project. With the introduction of Android 14, “ART 14” will be available. But the latest upgrade and its enhancements are not exclusive to Android 14 only, as they will also be made available for older operating systems. This means that it is feasible to run ART 14 on an Android 12 phone that may have been overlooked.
The ART 14 update, as mentioned by Google, will be upgrading Android from OpenJDK 11 to the latest OpenJDK 17. This update will include new runtime and compiler improvements and optimizations that aim at enhancing performance and reducing code size. It is expected that this update will be released for Android 14 in the coming month, initiating a Play Store rollout process.
Source: Google