Is it possible to use Java 8 for Android development?

Question

Searching the web, it is not clear if Java 8 is supported for Android development or not.

Before I download/setup Java 8, can some one point me at any \"official\" d

Answer 1

I wrote a similar answer to a similar question on Stack Overflow, but here is part of that answer.

Android Studio 2.1:

The new version of Android Studio (2.1) has support for Java 8 features. Here is an extract from the Android Developers blogspot post:

... Android Studio 2.1 release includes support for the new Jack compiler and support for Java 8.

...

To use Java 8 language features when developing with the N Developer Preview, you need to use the Jack compiler. The New Project Wizard [File→ New→ Project] generates the correct configurations for projects targeting the N.

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Prior to Android Studio 2.1:

Android does not support Java 1.8 yet (it only supports up to 1.7), so you cannot use Java 8 features like lambdas.

This answer gives more detail on Android Studio's compatibility; it states:

If you want to use lambdas, one of the major features of Java 8 in Android, you can use gradle-retrolamba

If you want to know more about using gradle-retrolambda, this answer gives a lot of detail on doing that.