Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world, making it important to learn for any software application developer. In contrast to Apple’s iOS, which can only be used in iPhones, Google’s Android operating system is open source, which allows it to be used by manufacturers all over the world. As a result, now Android powers 2.5 billion phones, tablets, and other smart devices of all sizes, configurations, and price points, making it the operating system of nearly 75% of the world’s mobile devices.
Android app development uses Android Studio, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Android apps. Within Android Studio, developers can choose to use common object-oriented programming languages like Java, Kotlin, and C++. The ability to use Java in particular can make Android app development easier than iOS development for programmers coming from a desktop software background. That said, the Swift programming language used in iOS requires writing less code, which generally makes iOS development faster and easier for experienced mobile developers.