When developing mobile applications, companies are targeting Android due to its huge market share of mobile operating systems around the world. Alphabet has made Android available as an open source mobile platform. In addition, it updates the mobile operating system at regular intervals with new features and enhancements. But the penetration rate of individual versions of the mobile operating system is different.
Alphabet does not regulate Android smartphones, tablets and phablets manufactured by various companies. Therefore, devices made by different companies come with different hardware features even though they run on the same version of Android. That is why; becomes essential for developers to create mobile apps targeting a wide range of devices that run on different versions of Android.
While planning, developing and testing the mobile application, they should focus extensively on its accessibility, functionality, performance, usability and security of the mobile application to keep users interested regardless of their choice of Android device. In addition, they need to explore ways to make the application provide a personalized user experience on different devices and versions of the operating system. Additionally, they must address a number of common challenges to develop a robust Android app.
Understanding the 7 Common Challenges Android App Developers Face
1) Software fragmentation
As mentioned above, the market share of the individual versions of Android is different. According to the latest data published by Google, the most recent version of its mobile operating system, Nougat, has a lower market share than its predecessors: Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat. Each new version of Android comes with several new features and improvements. Developers must include specific functions in the application so that it offers an optimal user experience by taking advantage of these new functions. At the same time, they must also ensure that the application offers a rich and personalized user experience on devices with older versions of Android. Developers must target multiple versions of Android to make the app popular and profitable in the short term.
2) Various hardware features
Unlike other mobile operating systems, Android is open source. Alphabet allows device manufacturers to customize their operating system according to their specific needs. Also, it does not regulate Android devices released by various manufacturers. Hence, the devices come with different hardware features even though they run on the same version of Android. For example, two Android Nougat devices may differ from each other in the category of screen size, resolution, camera, and other hardware features. When developing an Android application, developers must ensure that it offers a personalized experience to each user by accessing all the hardware functions of their device.
3) There are no uniform UI design rules or processes
Google hasn’t released any common user interface (UI) design processes or rules for mobile app developers. Therefore, most developers create Android apps without following any standard UI development process or rule. When developers create custom UI interfaces in their own way, applications do not look or function uniformly on different devices. The incompatibility and diversity of the user interface affects the user experience delivered by the Android application directly. Smart developers go for a responsive design to keep the user interface consistent across many devices. Also, developers need to test their mobile app UI comprehensively by combining real devices and emulators. But often developers find it overwhelming to design a user interface that makes the app look consistent across multiple Android devices.
4) API incompatibility
Most developers use third-party APIs to improve the functionality and interoperability of the mobile application. But the quality of the third-party APIs available to Android app developers is different. Some APIs are designed for a particular version of Android. Therefore, these APIs do not work on devices running different versions of the mobile operating system. Developers have to explore ways to make a single API work on different versions of Android. But they often find it difficult to make the app run smoothly on different Android devices with the same set of APIs.
5) Security flaws
Its open source nature makes it easy for device manufacturers to customize Android according to their specific needs. But the openness and its huge market share made Android vulnerable to frequent security attacks. There are many cases where the security of millions of Android devices has been affected by security flaws or bugs such as Stagefright, ‘Certifi-gate’ mRST, FakeID, Installer Hijacking, and TowelRoot. Developers must include strong security features in the application and use the latest encryption mechanism to keep user information safe despite targeted security attacks and security flaws in Android.
6) Android search engine visibility
The latest data published on various websites shows that the Google Play Store has a much larger number of mobile applications than the Apple App Store. In addition, a large percentage of Android device users prefer free applications to paid ones. Therefore, developers must aggressively promote their mobile apps to achieve higher number of downloads and implement app monetization options. They also need to implement a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to promote the app by targeting the most relevant users. Many developers have to use the services of digital marketers to aggressively promote their applications.
7) Patent issues
Users have the option to choose from various Android apps that offer identical features and functionality. But developers often find it overwhelming to create applications with unique features and functionality. They often include features and functionalities in the app that make it similar to various apps available in the same category on the Play Store. Unlike Apple, Google does not implement strict guidelines for evaluating the quality of new apps that are submitted to its app store. The lack of standardized quality assessment guidelines often leads developers to address patent-related issues. Some developers have to design and modify their applications in the future to avoid patent problems.
Most Android application developers today work in an agile development environment to create Android applications quickly. They must constantly coordinate with QA professionals and actively participate in the mobile app testing process. Therefore, developers also need to address a number of common issues in Android app testing.