java – What version of JDK (language level) is required for Android Studio?

Clarification of the answer – Android Studio supports JDK8

Below is an answer to the question “What version of Java does Android support?” Which is different from “What version of Java can I use to run Android Studio?” Which I believe is what was actually asked. For those looking to answer the second question, you may find sando = Android Studio with Java 1.7 useful.

Also: see http://developer.Android.com/sdk/index.html#latest for Android Studio. JDK8 is actually a requirement for PC and Linux (starting from 14/05/16).

Java 8 Update (3/19/14)

Because I suppose this question will start soon with yesterday’s version: as of now, there is no set date for when Android will support Java 8.

Here is a discussion on / androiddev – http://www.reddit.com/r/androiddev/comments/22mh0r/does_Android_have_any_plans_for_Java_8/

If you really want lambda support, you can check out Retrolambda – https://github.com/evant/gradle-retrolambda . I’ve never used it, but it looks promising enough.

Another update: Android added Java 7 support

Android now supports Java 7 (minus the resource test feature). You can read more about Java 7 functions here: https: //stackoverflow.com/a/13550632/413254 . If you are using gradle, you can add the following in your build.gradle:

Android {
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
    }
}

Previous answer

I am using Java 7 with Android Studio with no problems (OS X – 10.8.4). You need to make sure you drop the project language level up to 6.0. See the screenshot below.