How Developers With iOS Background Can Start The Android Development?

If you are part of the iOS development and wish to design an Android app, then get ready to enter the Wild West. In Android development, things are fragmented, dangerous and complex. Well, creating an Android app is not that tough. The majority of your domain knowledge and skills can be easily applied to the new platform without any hassle. There are also chances that you might enjoy building Android apps more than iOS apps.

If you are planning to switch from iOS to Android, here's the list of some exclusive iOS components that are laid out in Android.

Android Development: More Similar to iOS Than You Think

If you are good with Objective-C, Swift and worry about learning all new code starting from the square one, relax there is nothing like that in Android development. Well, Android is written in Java and OOP (object oriented programming) which is just like the Objective-C and Swift. After working with codes like OOP in the iPhone development you have already wrapped your mind across the concepts such as objects, encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance.

Every iOS app developer is fully aware of the self, subclasses/superclasses, overriding methods and delegates of the iOS architecture. In case you still face any issue then you can take help of the online articles, tutorials etc.

Xcode vs. Android Studio

Xcode: This is the IDE which every app developer love and hate in equal measure. While Xcode has made lots of improvements in the past couple of years. You will find some features that you wish you had in the Xcode. The speed and performance offered by Android Studio are way better than the Xcode.

Android Studio: The best thing about this Android application developmentsoftware is that it helps in reducing boilerplate code for subclasses with pre-population of overriding methods, Import statements, new method generation, and is smarter with offering fixes for compiler errors. Otherwise, for the most part, Xcode and Android Studio will provide the same amount of support in developing your app.

Dealing with Different Screen Sizes

From past several years, iOS developers are designing apps for only one screen size i.e. 320x480px. But on the Android, the developers have to come up with adaptive app designs as the mobile devices have different screen sizes. When the iPhone 5 was launched, iOS app makers were still stuck on the small screens while Android had been iterating and improving their app making tools so that can not only develop for multiple screens but also for the multiple screen densities.

This brings us to the modern day where Apple devices have large screens and are now in the same boat as Android. But Apple still doesn't have the right tools to develop adaptive apps whereas Android is ruling the roost.

Addressing Android SDK Fragmentation and API Support

One of the biggest fears is Android fragmentation. It will be good you should discuss and analyse how low you wish to set your minimum SDK (Software Development Kit). While the same question is posed to iOS developers as well. Android OS versions go back in a long way and the older versions are still in use. So if you wish to reach as many as users you can, it will be good if you come up with an app which functions on the old SDKs as well.