1page.title=Devices and Displays
2page.metaDescription=Take advantage of Android's flexible layout system and create apps that gracefully scale from phones to tablets and beyond.
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4@jd:body
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6<p>Android powers hundreds of millions of phones, tablets, and other devices in a wide variety of screen sizes and
7form factors. By taking advantage of Android's flexible layout system, you can create apps that
8gracefully scale from large tablets to smaller phones.</p>
9
10<img src="{@docRoot}design/media/devices_displays_main.png">
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12<div class="vspace size-2">&nbsp;</div>
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14<div class="layout-content-row">
15  <div class="layout-content-col span-4">
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17<h4>Be flexible</h4>
18<p>Stretch and compress your layouts to accommodate various heights and widths.</p>
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20  </div>
21  <div class="layout-content-col span-5">
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23<h4>Optimize layouts</h4>
24<p>On larger devices, take advantage of extra screen real estate. Create compound views that combine
25multiple views to reveal more content and ease navigation.</p>
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27  </div>
28  <div class="layout-content-col span-4">
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30<h4>Assets for all</h4>
31<p>Provide resources for different screen densities (<acronym title="Dots per inch">DPI</acronym>) to
32ensure that your app looks great on any device.</p>
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34  </div>
35</div>
36
37  <img src="{@docRoot}design/media/devices_displays_density@2x.png" alt="" height="160" />
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39<h4>Strategies</h4>
40<p>So where do you begin when designing for multiple screens? One approach is to work in the base
41standard (normal size and <acronym title="Medium density (160 dpi)">MDPI</acronym>) and scale it up or
42down for the other buckets. Another approach is to start with the device with the largest screen
43size, and then scale down and figure out the UI compromises you'll need to make on smaller screens.</p>
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45<p>For details about designing layouts for larger screens, see the <a
46href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/multi-pane-layouts.html">Multi-pane Layouts</a> guide.</p>
47
48<div class="note develop">
49<p><strong>Developer Guide</strong></p>
50  <p>For information about how to build flexible layouts for multiple screen sizes and densities,
51  read
52  <a href="{@docRoot}training/multiscreen/index.html">Designing for Multiple Screens</a> and
53  <a href="{@docRoot}training/basics/fragments/index.html">Building a Dynamic UI with
54  Fragments</a>.</p>
55</div>
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