Major Challenges faced by Android App Developers

Girish RTeam Lead, Mobile Solutions, Fingent
Programmer for 18 yrs, leads the mobile solutions team at Fingent. Blogger at Techathlon.com, LifeHacker, DIYer.
Published:
This article is about the challenges faced by Android app developers.

Challenges faced by android app developers


Developers across the world struggle to produce advanced and intuitive software for the Android platform. Let's take a look at some of the reasons why.


Enterprises can easily create business apps for the Android platform using various android app development service providers. Android facilitates the app owner an enormous user base. But there are many challenges too, such as software fragmentation.  


Open source is good for everyone and because it's a free platform, it allows for people to collaborate in the development of technology, adding to and refining each other's ideas. With the above in mind, Google App Engine lets developers build scalable web and mobile backends in any language on Google's infrastructure. Google's decision to make Android open source gave developers the momentum needed to become such a powerful force in the global mobile market. But there are many challenges in mobile app development which still need to be addressed. 


Below find the list of difficulties:


The problem with the User Interface - Android does not stick to a common UI process. Google has not enforced any standard user interface (UI) designing process or rules for the mobile app developers. Thus the developers create custom UI interfaces which do not look or function consistently across different devices. This incompatibility and diversity of the UI directly affect the user experience delivered by the Android app. Thus, it is imperative to have a responsive layout and to maintain UI consistency across as many devices as possible, which is a daunting task. 


Software Fragmentation Issue - various versions of Google Android OS can be found on different devices. Timely upgrades change the version of the Android operating system that runs on the device. Developers have a hard time focusing on all the versions starting with the older versions of the OS to the latest. Remember, not everyone will upgrade their devices to the latest version of an operating system.


Google earns by encouraging users to spend more time using the internet, which in turn encourages users to take more advantage of their various web-based services. Rather than selling hardware, it's looking to make the Android experience better so that you'll use your device as much as possible.


The issue with Android upgrades isn't technical but that the companies making and selling Android phones have no real motivation to care about post-sales support and timely upgrades. A company like Samsung convinces you to upgrade your hardware as often as possible.
 

Security Issue - Lately Android mobile devices are being impacted by malware that's comparable to PCs. This happens as a direct consequence of extensive internet usage. Deficiency of rules in applications fragmentation in Android's field has resulted in the proliferation of threats. To make matters worse, these security problems are rather tricky to fix and it is often among the largest challenges faced by Android developers and programmers.


While testing the application, consider the EMM (Enterprise Mobility Management) sort of testing which allows better security. Always connect to a secure SSL server to ensure they use encryption when handling your data. As an android app developer, you should know that users have more of a ‘free will’ sort of value when they get on the Google Play Store and decide on which app is better than the others. Always do your own thorough testing.


Patent Issue - The recent violation of patent issues faced by Android software developers and hardware manufacturers can become a big Android app development challenge for developers.


Create an app that adapts web content to mobile devices through responsive design. It has two main advantages: time and money. Releasing a beta version of your app to a select few before publishing would be a wise option. Your app should not be complex, rather it should be as simple and clear as possible. Along with these, bear in mind the battery consumption and performance.


Conclusion

Having said that, it's not all that bad. There are many advantages too. A good discussion with the client is the best way that all the Android app developers can avoid all the challenges. 

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Girish RTeam Lead, Mobile Solutions, Fingent
Programmer for 18 yrs, leads the mobile solutions team at Fingent. Blogger at Techathlon.com, LifeHacker, DIYer.

Comments (1)

good to read.

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