Android Developers Blog: Per-App Language Preferences

// Utility method to put a string in a SharedPreference private fun putString(key: String, value: String) {     val editor = getSharedPreferences(PREFERENCE_NAME, PREFERENCE_MODE).edit()     editor.putString(key, value)     editor.apply() } // Utility method to get a string from a SharedPreference private fun getString(key: String): String? {     val preference = getSharedPreferences(PREFERENCE_NAME, PREFERENCE_MODE)     return preference.getString(key, null) }

// Check if the migration has already been done or not if (getString(FIRST_TIME_MIGRATION) != STATUS_DONE) {    // Fetch the selected language from wherever it was stored. In this case it’s SharedPref    // In this case let’s assume that it was stored in a key named SELECTED_LANGUAGE   getString(SELECTED_LANGUAGE)?.let { it →       // Set this locale using the AndroidX library that will handle the storage itself       val localeList = LocaleListCompat.forLanguageTags(it)       AppCompatDelegate.setApplicationLocales(localeList)       // Set the migration flag to ensure that this is executed only once       putString(FIRST_TIME_MIGRATION, STATUS_DONE)   } }

What flexibility does the feature provide to the users and developers?

Here are a few things that might prove to be beneficial for you users.

1. All devices running Android 13 or higher will have a common place for users to discover and change the language of their apps.
2. Although the system settings are limited to the devices running Android 13 or higher, the AndroidX APIs are backwards compatible. Thus, there is no requirement to add OS Version checks in your code while building for your multilingual users.
3. Developers do not need to handle configuration changes separately or worry about storing the user’s selected language every time. The API handles configuration changes and stores the language preferences for you.
4. Works with other Android features like Backup and restore. If a user switches to a new device and restores the previously backed up data, your app will retain the user’s last preferred language, thus providing your users with a better and more seamless experience.

Recap

With that, most parts of the feature are covered. So let’s have a quick recap on what we discussed in today’s read.

1. A quick read on what Per-App Language Preferences offer to multilingual users and app developers.
2. What end users will see on their devices.
3. How to migrate your app to the Per-App Language Preferences APIs.
4. A few things that need to be taken care of while migrating to the APIs to ensure a better user experience.
5. Lastly, the benefits that end users and developers can leverage from this feature.

References

1. Per-App Language Preferences
2. Sample App ( Compose )
3. Sample App ( Views )
4. Per-App Language Preferences (YouTube Video)