Fixing Android 16 Edge-to-Edge in One Call

I avoided dealing with Android's edge-to-edge change for as long as I could. It breaks the UI of apps that have looked fine for years, and fixing it means touching every screen.

Now there's no putting it off: since August 31 Google Play requires new apps and updates to target API 36 or higher.

I spent hours fighting insets and cutouts, but you don't have to. I turned my solution into an open source library.

One call restores your old activity look:

• a status bar in your primary color, with contrasting icons
• content kept clear of the system bars and the keyboard
• black bars covering the camera cutout and the 3-button navigation in landscape

It does nothing below API 36, so older devices keep the behavior they have today. Available on GitHub and via JitPack, MIT licensed.

My development rants on X, Bluesky and Mastodon.