Google is set to enhance the Android ecosystem with a new native color picker tool known as “EyeDropper,” anticipated to debut alongside Android 17. This innovative application aims to provide a system-wide API, enabling any app to allow users to select specific colors from their screens and retrieve their corresponding values.
Streamlining Color Selection for Developers
For professionals engaged in image and video editing, precise color identification is paramount. The reliance on visual approximation often falls short, necessitating the use of hexadecimal codes for accurate color reproduction across various platforms. Currently, Android lacks a built-in color picker, a gap that EyeDropper seeks to fill.
Recent explorations of the 2510 Android Canary update revealed the EyeDropper application, designed with simplicity in mind. Its primary function is to offer a public API that allows developers to integrate a color picker into their applications seamlessly. This eliminates the need for custom in-app solutions or third-party libraries, ultimately streamlining development processes and reducing app file sizes.
The EyeDropper API operates through a specific Intent (android.intent.action.OPENEYEDROPPER), which prompts the EyeDropper app to launch and capture the current screen. Users can then navigate a selector to pinpoint their desired color. For instance, a photo editing application could leverage this API to enable users to extract the exact color value of a pixel within an image.
In a demonstration of the EyeDropper app, users can move a cursor over a static screen capture, with a magnified view displaying the selected pixel. The interface allows for precise adjustments using on-screen arrow keys, culminating in an “Apply” button that returns the chosen color value to the originating app. However, in the demo, the absence of a calling app meant no color value was displayed, as the functionality relies on a request from another application.
Google’s vision for the EyeDropper app aligns with its broader ‘Android on PCs’ initiative. The application incorporates features from Chrome’s desktop version while accommodating large-screen Android devices. Upon launch, EyeDropper detects connected peripherals to determine its operating mode, switching to a desktop interface if a mouse and keyboard are present, or defaulting to a touchscreen setup otherwise.
While the EyeDropper app has surfaced in the latest Android Canary release, it is unlikely to feature in the forthcoming Android 16 QPR2 or QPR3 updates. The introduction of new APIs for Android 16 has already concluded, with the current version reaching Platform Stability last month. Thus, the earliest opportunity for users to experience EyeDropper will likely coincide with the release of Android 17. Although there is potential for Google to roll out this feature to existing devices via a Google Play System Update, no official plans have been announced as of yet. As developments unfold, further updates will be provided to keep the community informed.
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