What's mipmap-anydpi-v26 in res directory in Android Studio 3.0?

Question

In Android Studio 3.0, once we create a project, a folder named mipmap-anydpi-v26 is automatically created in the res directory. What actually does it do? Why do we need it? How will we utilize it for development purposes?

Also, there are two XML files automatically created in this folder after project setup. Why do these XML files reside in a mipmap folder? I thought we should keep all XML files in a drawable folder instead of mipmap.

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/45080712/whats-mipmap-anydpi-v26-in-res-directory-in-android-studio-3-0

Answer 1

Android Studio 3 creates an adaptive icon for your app which is only available in SDK 26 and up. Launcher icons should be put into the mipmap folders.

If you look at your manifest, you can see that it references ic_launcher

android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"

If you look in your mipmap folder, you see your normal 5 different launcher icons which will be used for anything lower than SDK 26. For SDK 26 and up, it uses the XML files from the anydpi-v26 folder to make use of adaptive icon.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<adaptive-icon xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <background android:drawable="@drawable/ic_launcher_background"/>
    <foreground android:drawable="@mipmap/ic_launcher_foreground"/>
</adaptive-icon>