Android software development for my software project?
Android is a type of operating system that’s designed for mobile phones and is becoming very popular for business use today. Android is particularly good for business as it is a more open platform and you don’t need a developer license, as is required by some of the other platforms.
Android software development is often used for developing mobile apps, due to the number of mobile devices using the Android operating system.
This blog post will take a look at many things you may need to know about Android software development. This will give you a basic understanding of the process and will help with making an informed decision on whether Android would be a good platform for your business app.
What is Android?
Android is an operating system that’s used on mobile phones and tablets, however, it’s now expanded to cars, cameras, TVs, and watches. It’s one of the world’s most commonly used operating systems for mobile phones and was developed by Android Inc., which was purchased by Google back in 2005. When a game or app is built for mobile phones today, Android is one of the operating systems of choice as billions own Android devices, thus making your app available to many users. Apps for Android are developed with Android Studio and are then installed with the Android Package Kit.
What is the Android programming language?
When it comes to developing Android apps, a few languages are generally used, including JAVA or C++ and then XML. KOTLIN has also become increasingly popular in recent years for Android development projects. The front-end, such as the design and layout, is done with XML, and then JAVA or KOTLIN can deal with the back-end of the app.
Components of Android software development
The components of Android software development are critical for anyone undertaking a development project to understand. Each component has a separate role in the project, and they depend upon each other to work effectively. Firstly, activities describe everything in relation to the user interface and your interactions with the screen when using an app. You may have multiple activities depending on the complexity of the app you are developing. Services are running in the background and are designed for the app to continue working non-stop without any disruptions to your interactions with the app.
Broadcast receivers are used to respond to messages within the system or with other interactions. This will help the app to react appropriately if you have a low battery or an incoming call. Finally, the content provider works to transfer the data between applications when requested. All of these components must work together in order for an Android application to work effectively.
Developing for older phones
The development kit used by Android developers is updated to work alongside Android updates but will also support older devices. Whether you should target older devices will depend on the device you think your users will own. Supporting older devices can increase the costs or reduce the functionality available for your developers to use. So in many cases, it is not worth supporting older devices, unless you are convinced that the majority of your users will only own the outdated models.
Catering to Different Devices
One of the great things about Android software development is that it allows you to offer different resources for various devices. Your app developer will be able to create layouts to fit different screen sizes, and the Android system will decide which one to use for the device your app is currently running on.
The popularity of Android today
The first Android phone was announced in 2008, and since then, Android has taken the world by storm. By 2013, one million applications had been created for Android, and today, the Google Play store has had over 48 billion app installs. Android can now be used on Google Watches and Google Glass, so the number of apps being created each day is only continuing to increase. Android is now available in 46 different languages and it’s believed that about two-thirds of mobile phone users today are on Android. This is why it’s critical that any apps you have built for your business, are available for this platform.
When considering an app for your business, we encourage anyone to look at having their app developed for Android and for iOS if required. You’ll find BSPOKE Software have plenty of experience in Android software development and are happy to develop apps for iOS as well. Through our knowledge of previous clients, we have found it is often a requirement that all apps are built to work on both the Android and iOS platforms as this covers over 95% of the UK mobile users and is roughly a 50/50 split.
If you are thinking of having an app created for your business, please feel free to get in touch.
