With over 5.9 million people providing Android app development services, starting off your career in Android app development software can be your new face to something massive.
Google created the open-source Android operating system with mobile devices in mind. Over the years, it has grown significantly in popularity, which has led to a tremendous need for Android developers.
The process of creating an application for this straightforward yet flexible operating system using Android Studio with the aid of the Android Software Development Kit is known as Android development.
It is one of the most sought-after professional choices since, although using fewer resources and incurring less expense during development, it gives a high success percentage.
Here is all you need to know about the operating system and what it takes to become a successful Android developer if you’re wondering how to become an Android developer.
Why Should You Use Android?
Android is a popular platform since it doesn’t demand a precise level of technical knowledge, making it more straightforward for developers with different levels of competence to understand.
An estimated 2.6 million Android apps are available in the Google Play Store, and the majority of them are either less expensive or free to download. The following are a few extra benefits of selecting Android.
- Android development gives businesses the benefit of being more affordable, having a wider audience, and having more potential for advertising when they want to launch a new application. As a result, there are more prospects for Android developers.
- Another benefit of using Android over other operating systems is that you won’t have to pay for SDK tools or a recurring annual fee. Although the development process involves spending money on creating music, assets, graphics, and code, it is still far less expensive than creating an app for a different operating system. With Android, you can create interactive applications while testing them on any device, which requires less up-front effort and increases return on investment.
- Once they have been created and tested, Android applications simply need to wait approximately a day to be approved and published on the Google Play Store. For Android developers, this makes the entire development and deployment process simpler.
- Because it enables you to design applications for a variety of platforms, including Symbian and Ubuntu, Android is a flexible choice. The Google-approved language for creating Android applications is called Kotlin; it may also be used to create programs that run on iOS and Java desktop editions.
- Any app developer would like to create a versatile, feature-rich application. Since Android is an open-source platform, you may quickly tweak your applications to include the features and functionalities that your consumers might need.
How to get started with Android App Development?
Environment for Development
Choosing an IDE is crucial before beginning to develop an Android application.
Android Studio is the official IDE for Android programming. The greatest IDE overall for getting started is Android Studio. Along with all essential Android SDK tools and emulators, the IDE package comes with Google’s Android SDK, NDK, Java, and Kotlin support. Java and Kotlin may both be used to create native Android applications, and Android Studio supports both of them.
Project/File Layout for Android
You may start your first Android project once you’ve downloaded, installed, and configured your environment. It’s critical to comprehend the Android app’s project structure. All of the source files are located in the’src folder.
The raw pictures, text, and XML layouts in the assets folder are assembled into an APK file. Similar objects to those in the assets folder are also found in the res folder, but it also contains variations or subclasses of those resources to accommodate screen orientations, other languages, or OS versions.
For easy access to these resources, each file in a directory called res has a pre-compiled ID.
Visual Layout for Android
Android UI elements may be created programmatically or graphically using the Android Studio Layout Editor. Android UI elements are described in XML.
Build/Run/Test
You may use an Android emulator or a real Android device connected to your computer through USB to use your Android app once you’ve coded and built it. On your computer, an Android emulator resembles an Android phone, tablet, or TV.
An emulator offers nearly all the features of a genuine Android device, and you may customize it to mimic a particular maker, operating system, and set of tools according to your requirements. A genuine Android device should always be used for testing before sending it to testers or the app store marketplace.
An Android emulator is not a replacement for a real Android device.
Cloud Testing
It is crucial to test your Android app on actual hardware since your program may have unforeseen problems due to the real device’s performance, various operating system versions, manufacturer customizations, and carrier firmware. You may more accurately understand how your consumers interact with your app by doing testing on actual hardware.
On the other side, it might be difficult logistically to procure actual equipment for testing. It is at this point that cloud testing is useful. You may test your application on actual devices that are available in the cloud by using cloud testing. To check the quality of your application, you may run human or automated tests.
Distribute
Since Android is an open platform, developers have a few options for sharing their apps with users, clients, other developers, and business partners. The Google Play Store, which enables publishing apps to a marketplace with the largest audience, is the most popular and official Android app store.
The Amazon App Store is another well-liked app store for Android apps in addition to the Google Play Store. You may use the Google Play Console to distribute your Android app for beta testing and have it approved for the pre-marketplace so that users can give it honest feedback.
How to Effectively Create an Android App?
With reusable components and templates, as well as productivity features like code completion, refactoring, and testing, the Android Studio may help developers create code more quickly. Follow this useful advice to design an Android app swiftly and effectively:
1. Begin Small
Mastering the foundational ideas of Android app development is the key to effective learning. Create apps with no other purpose than to test features and functions until you are familiar with the idea. Online sample projects abound, which can be used to hone abilities.
2. Always Test
To test the app on an emulated device as though it were a real device, it is simple to run the Android emulator from within the Android Studio. Regular testing on a variety of simulated devices may take into consideration various Android versions, screen sizes, and component usability.
3. Study at the proper speed
Expect at least 6 months to become competent in a new language (Java or Kotlin) for a novice programmer who practices 2-4 hours per day, and at least another 3–9 months to create a new app.
4. Show patience
The initial app(s) made could not function as intended depending on the developer’s degree of experience. It might not even function as anticipated. Keep going! You’ll succeed with additional practice and study of the different Android mobile app tutorials. For seasoned developers, creating an app typically takes between three and nine months.
5. Keep Learning
Even the best Android applications require ongoing maintenance to be innovative; creating amazing apps takes time. Keep up with the most recent design and technological trends by checking out numerous blogs, news websites, podcasts, and the official Android development blog.
Do you know how to maintain your app secure and in compliance with this year’s major subject of privacy and security?
Wrapping Up
The process of developing an app must include design and development. But if you base the design of your app on a strong basis, you can make it stand out.
Keep in mind that there are many people who work as Android app developers if you want to employ one. For the greatest outcomes and to satisfy your expectations as a customer, a team of developers is necessary.
We suggest that you get in touch with a highly qualified mobile app development company that is passionate about coding and results-driven.
Make sure they also produce unique Android applications that address business issues and maximize ROI for our clients. Additionally, we provide full, end-to-end product development services, including UX/UI, design, and strategy.
