According to appbrain.com stats, Google Play currently has more than 2.6 million apps available for Android phones and tablets. Many of these apps are put there by businesses which need to connect their customers or employees. Some of them are to sell products or services while others are gaming or utility apps which entertain or help users. In fact, we have android apps for almost everything we believe our smartphone is capable of doing.
Businesses know how intensely people depend on these apps. They also know that 85% of all smartphones and more than 60% of all tablets are running on the Android operating system. There is no shortage of opportunities for businesses once they have their presence on Android. Almost every business now wants to use the power of Android apps. No doubt, Android app development is gaining more momentum because of this trend.
So, fundamentally Android apps let Businesses-
- create their brand because Android has huge dominance in the market.
- connect with and engage customers, and acquire new ones
- cover the largest mobile customer base, and
- provide more responsive customer support.
The Development of the Android App
As mentioned above, Android is one of the most widely used mobile operating systems in the world. The global acceptance of Android-powered smartphones has transformed Android app development into a huge industry.
When it comes to developing apps for Android devices, there are a number of approaches practised with the use of Android Studio by developers. Android Studio is an Integrated Development Environment(IDE) which provides all the features to help developers build Android apps.
Java has been the preferred programming language applied to code an Android app, but now Kotlin too is getting the attention of developers after Google introduced it as the official programming language for Android app development. Developers also use the Android Native Development Kit along with Android Studio.
But for small many businesses, the cost of Android app development may not be affordable. Because they cannot make big investments, they are not able to take advantage of the Android platforms.
List of Android App Development Frameworks
- Xamarin
- React Native
- Ionic
- PhoneGap
- Unity
- Cordova
- Titanium
- TheAppBuilder.
Although the cost and time required in building an Android app are still too high, things can be affordable for small businesses if they go with frameworks. These frameworks allow developers to rapidly implement an Android app at low costs. With these frameworks, developers are able to develop apps faster. Here are some best of the frameworks available in the market.
Xamarin
Xamarin is a hugely popular framework available for Android app development. There are millions of developers using Xamarin across the world. It’s generally chosen by C# enthusiasts. It offers a whole set of C# codebase for Android app developers to build native apps. Android developers also use Xamarin for Visual Studio to develop native apps using the .Net codebase. The frameworks can also be used to develop IOS apps.
React Native
Most of the experienced developers in the mobile app industry are aware of React Native, the open-source version of Facebook’s JavaScript Framework. React Native has been used in the native apps of Fortune 500 companies, like Tesla, Walmart, Instagram, etc. Also, the most interesting thing about this framework is that you would hardly be able to make a difference between apps developed using Java and React Native.
Ionic
Ionic is a freely available, open-source framework for Android apps. Soon after its launch, Ionic has become a smash hit in the whole app development community. It’s a cross-platform framework and, it means developers cannot only build Android apps with Ionic but, they can use it to build apps for other platforms and the web. Also, it comes with useful document features which make things easier for developers.
PhoneGap
The people who built Cordova also provided PhoneGap, basically a distribution with a number of tools and plugins. It lets web developers build mobile apps by applying their web development skills. The single code base allows for building cross-platform apps. It has made Android app development quite simpler.
Unity
Developed by Microsoft, Unity is technically a game engine supporting 27 platforms. It’s widely applied to building 2D and 3D games. But now it’s turning up a great asset for cross-platform mobile development too. The IDE of unity is quite similar to Android Studio. Now many developers are combining it with C++ for mobile app development.
Cordova
The Cordova combines the potential of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It’s an open-source framework that lets developers build multi-platform mobile apps using a single code base. Although Cordova was designed for online apps, it offers great support for offline scenarios too.
Titanium
Titanium is also a popular framework used for Android app development. It has a dedicated following and is available as an open-source framework. It lets developers build attractive apps with a native look & feel, and function. It also provides a free API Builder with Hyperloop.
TheAppBuilder
As an online framework, the app builder lets anyone build visually appealing apps without any design knowledge. Android app development is gaining more momentum. This can be used to create attractive and interactive apps. Also, apps based on this platform can sync quickly with almost every device users log on.
Wrapping up
Selecting a specific Android app development framework generally depends on the preferences of a developer. The goal behind the creation of an app helps developers understand what platform they should apply to an android app development project.
Author bio: Sofia Coppol is a Digital Marketing Expert in Rapidsoft Technologies which is a leading consulting company providing a full range it services including, IoT App Development, ERP software development, ai app development, and big data app development solutions. Sharing is caring!
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