Qt Android Activity View

Qt for Android Automotive creates a bridge between the world of Qt and the Android Automotive environment. It provides excellent flexibility in terms of accessing car data. Depending on the needs, you can use tools for automatic code generation based on a high-level description or ready-to-use QML components.

The Qt Android ActivityView module has been added to Qt for Android Automotive in version 6.3.0. Currently, Android 10 and 11 are supported.

 When it comes to UI, all the benefits provided by Qt are available. The natural choice is to use QML and Qt Design Studio to create a modern graphical interface quickly and efficiently.

 Often, however, there is a need to leverage existing Android applications - directly or after adaptation to specific requirements. An integrated home screen composed of selected embedded applications could be an example. The new Activity View module provides a component that allows embedding external Android applications into the Qt-based one. The feature is as easy to use as any other visual QML component, including support for Qt Design Studio.

 The primary use case is as simple as the QML code below. You can position the component using anchors. Additionally, a busy indicator is displayed while the external application is loading:

import QtQuick
import QtQuick.Controls
import QtAndroidAutomotive.ActivityView

ApplicationWindow {
   visible: true
   BusyIndicator {
       anchors.centerIn: parent
       visible: activityView.status !== ActivityView.Started
   }
   ActivityView {
       id: activityView
       anchors.centerIn: parent
       width: 600
       height: 800
       radius: 25
       packageName: "com.google.earth"
   }
}

Of course, you can also use ActivityView with layout components. The snippet below launches two applications positioned using a row layout: 

import QtQuick
import QtQuick.Controls
import QtQuick.Layouts
import QtAndroidAutomotive.ActivityView

ApplicationWindow {
   visible: true
   RowLayout {
       anchors.fill: parent
       anchors.margins: 25
       spacing: 25
       ActivityView {
           Layout.fillWidth: true
           Layout.fillHeight: true
           radius: 25
           packageName: "com.google.earth"
       }
      ActivityView {
           Layout.fillWidth: true
           Layout.fillHeight: true
           radius: 25
           packageName: "com.android.deskclock"
       }
   }
}

 You can also manipulate the component size and position dynamically. One of the examples provided with the module presents external applications wrapped in windows created in QML. Changing the location and size of an external application is a heavy operation. Therefore, the component allows you to define a placeholder that will be displayed, instead of the actual application, during these operations: 

In addition to the QML component, the Activity View module also provides a C++ API offering the same capabilities without dependence on QML.

 Note, however, that Activity View is not a standard visual QML component managed by a scene graph. This implies some limitations. Every Activity View component is always rendered above the QML scene. It is also impossible to intercept events from the element, e.g., with the MouseArea.  

 You can find more details about the new module in the documentation: Qt Android Activity View.