Majority of iOS application developers will eventually want to develop their apps not only for iOS but also for the Android OS.  Creating the same app on both OS opens up a huge opportunity for businesses and developers.  I’m sure a lot of developers are wishing for one button conversion software.  Unfortunately, there is currently no simple way to create an Android app from an  iOS app.  Creating an Android application will require developers to basically start from scratch because of the differences between the two OS.   There are a few important things an iOS app developer should keep in mind when starting to create an android version.

 

First, now that you will be using an Android platform, you are not restricted to just the Mac OS.  Windows and Linux can also be used for development, since the development tool for android is Eclipse IDE.  Eclipse is available on all three OS.

 

Second, most developers should know that Android apps are programmed in Java, while iOS apps are programmed in C.  Switching between coding languages isn’t hard, but will take some getting used to.  Java is a more widely used language so developers can get a lot of help from online examples and documents.  With these change in language, a user will also have to learn to use intents, fragments, and many more API’s that are used to create Android apps.

 

Thirdly, since you can’t just copy and paste code from your original iOS app, you will want to keep in mind the architecture and flow of your application.  You want it to work the same, but you have to program in a different language.

 

Next, one of the hardest things to re-design is the UI.  Androids and Iphones designs are very different.  For instance most androids have an existing back and menu button on the phone.  For iOS apps placing a back button in the app is necessary, but not for Android.  Most android’s also have a set of buttons located near the bottom of the screen.  You will notice apps for iOS have navigational buttons included in their app located at the bottom, but if this design is kept for an Android app users will accidentally hit wrong buttons.  Placing buttons near the bottom of the screen is not recommended.

 

Following the previous problem, Android phones will also have various screen sizes.  An app on the iOS is guaranteed to work once tested on one iPhone since the screen sizes do not vary.  For Android every device has a different screen size.  It is the developer’s responsibility to test their app for all screen sizes to make sure users can use the app no matter which phone they are using.

 

Lastly, developers should want to create widgets for the application on Android.  The iOS doesn’t use widgets, but widgets are used in a lot of successful applications on Android.  Learning how to create and design these will benefit your app a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are just some of the small challenges from converting iOS to Android.  Remembering these will help developers create an app for Android that will be just as satisfying to users as the iOS app.  The last thing developers will want is for their app to behave badly on one OS than the other.