Displaying animated image (GIF/WebP) with the new ImageDecoder library

Android P (API 28) introduces a new library called ImageDecoder, which will be deprecating the BitmapFactory class. This new image library promises to make it easier to work with not just bitmaps, but several other file formats not supported in the old BitmapFactory class, such as GIF and WebP animated images.

At the time of writing, it is only available on devices running Android P (or later) and is not available in the support library, but according to this issue on the Google issue tracker, there are plans to add ImageDecoder to the support library: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/78041382.

When, or if, that happens, the previous examples will be updated to use this new library instead. For now, we'll take a look at new functionality, and that is native support for displaying GIF images.

Getting ready

Create a new project in Android Studio and call it AnimatedImage. In the Target Android Devices dialog, make sure...