Android Galaxy S4 uses values-large?

Question

Problem:

I am testing my app using the Eclipse/ADT bundle. On an AVD created to emulate the Galaxy S4 (a device defined as being \"normal\" in si

Answer 1

1. values-large etc are deprecated with android 3.2 (?). It was replaced with things like values-sw720dp and there is basically not a single device out there running android 3.0 or 3.1. Any device running android 2.x is most likely a medium sized phone.
   This means, there is no need of using this old qualifiers.

2. values-sw720dp means, smallest width = 720dp I doubt, your S4 is that wide.
   You should use a qualifier like values-w720dp, which means width = 720dp where width depends on your current orientation.
   It's way better than relaying on port or land combination because it shows the two pane layout for large displays having 720dp width in portrait orientation too.

Answer 2

Master/Detail two-pane layout for large screens (any orientation)

That seems fine. The implication is that you will use this for -xlarge as well as -large.

and medium screens with high dpi in landscape orientation

First, I do not know what "medium screens" are, as that term is not used in Android development.

Second, I have no idea why you think this would be appropriate. Screen density should not impact the decision of whether to show one or two panes. I would be interested to know applications, written by experts, you see taking this approach.

At first I thought it was the second folder (sw720dp) causing the problem

Note that you have not stated what the problem is.

The Sony Xperia Z1 AVD

I am not aware that SONY distributes emulator images for their devices.

does the same thing as the S4 AVD

I am not aware that Samsung distributes emulator images for their devices.

Is there a values folder I can use to make the Galaxy S4 not choose Master/Detail at all, but still allow tablets to use it?

Ignoring your "medium screens with high dpi in landscape orientation", use -large or -xlarge for tablets. The Samsung Galaxy S4 will not use -large or -xlarge resources, as it is a -normal device. This was confirmed using both the GT-I9500 and the SGH-I337 versions of this particular model.

Is there a way I can make it use Master/Detail for the S4 only when in landscape?

You can use -normal-land to identify -normal devices in the -land orientation. Note that screen size (-normal) is a bit of a fuzzy match, in that Android considers that valid for devices in that size class or larger. Hence, -normal-land would be used by -large-land and -xlarge-land devices as well, in the absence of better matches.

(Note that density qualifiers are even fuzzier -- -mdpi will be used for any device density, in the absence of a better match, as density qualifiers are designed to be used only on drawable directories, where Android can apply resampling algorithms. Using density qualifiers on anything other than drawables and maybe dimension resources is a code smell.)

Personally, I would not use a dual-pane strategy for -normal-land devices, as -normal goes all the way down to 3" diagonal.

This is all in the Eclipse/ADT bundle using the emulator.

My guess is that this is where your problems are coming in.

Unless you downloaded something from a device manufacturer (e.g., Amazon with their emulator images for the Kindle Fire series), NEVER say that you have a "Sony Xperia Z1 AVD" or a "S4 AVD". You are lying to us and, worse, you are lying to yourself. At best, you have an emulator image that you think that you have configured to match the specifications of those devices. However:

• That assumes you got the configuration correct
• That assumes that the device manufacturer has not changed the behavior of their device at the firmware level
• That assumes there are no emulator bugs

You are certainly welcome to say that you are testing things on -normal -hdpi emulators, or the like, as those are things that you directly control via the Device Definitions tab of the AVD Manager.

Answer 3

After reading your comments, I noticed you said you said the Galaxy S4 screen size you defined was 4.9"? All the specs I've seen say it's 5" which will actually change the size in Device definitions from "normal" to "large" once you correctly set the S4 and Nexus 5 to 5".

Edit the Galaxy S4 emulator's definitions to 5" so you have the right screen size, it will auto-change the size to large, so you will need to decide if you need to switch it to normal then go from there. Also, for those wondering, once that avd starts, it does say that it's pulling from the sw480dp folder, so in your case, you would need a new folder:

values-sw480dp or to eliminate large devices in this bucket, values-normal-sw480dp