Nowadays, mobile phones have become an inseparable part of our lives. We cannot imagine a life without mobile phones. Android leads the smartphone market by an 87.4 billion share in sales worldwide. In 2019, 1.35 billion Android phones were sold. Thus, mobile app developers prioritize android apps compared to other operating systems.
Apple also has a huge audience and has generated 65.6 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from iPhone sales at the beginning of 2021. Still, the popularity of Android is unmatched and has remained the first choice of the audience.
The chart below displays the market share of different OS in 2017-18.
This article includes a step-by-step guide on how you can convert your iOS app into Android.
Let’s dive in.
Reasons to convert iOS into Android.
Let’s start by understanding why you need to convert your iOS app into Android. It will help you get a better idea of market share and sell your product to Android users.
- Wider Market Reach
Android leads the market with 72% of the total market share of the global market. So by investing in Android mobile apps, you can get a wider audience and increase your sales.
- More Features
Android provides more features than iOS, and you can leverage all of these features to provide a seamless customer experience. For example, Android includes the back navigation button, Android intents and Android wear, Widgets, and push notifications.
- Resources
You can save a lot on resources while converting your iOS app into an Android, using the same design and structure. In addition, it will help you save time, effort, and the cost of hiring an Android mobile app development services.
- High Rate of Interest(ROI) and more revenue
You can get millions of new users by converting your app and get higher customer engagement and a fast return on your investment. In addition, by running your app on both platforms, you can easily generate double revenue by charging them for in-app purchases and from the number of downloads.
- New Customers
As we know, Android has a larger market share in the global market. Thus, you can get a whole new audience for your Android app. If your website is popular, numerous people are waiting for your Android app and become your potential customers.
- It is easier than your think.
The majority of people think that developing an Android fragmentation is tricky, but it is not. With the increasing popularity of Android, Google has solved the fragmentation issue by providing numerous innovative tools.
With the provided tools, developers can specify different User interface layouts for different screen sizes and effortlessly leverage pixel density. The latest Android SDK version supports roughly 20 resolutions.
Currently, there are only 10 versions are in active use. Therefore, you need to consider them and convert your app that is compatible with these versions.
What’s an App Portability?
Android and iOS have lots of differences. For example, you cannot run your iOS app on Android and vice versa. To compete with the market, you need to create both iOS and Android app for your business. Also, both platforms are different than each other and have different Operating Systems. Therefore, you need unique parameters, such as navigation, interface design, and programming language for Android and iOS app development.
Android uses Java Virtual Machine (JVM); on the other hand, iOS uses the compiled code. Both have different screen settings, life cycles, and data approaches. One cannot directly install an iOS app on their Android phones, and on the other hand, the Apple store requires the proper authorization to launch your app on its platform. To convert your iOS app into Android, you need to hire Android app developers. You can implement some old features into your new app, but your developers need to build your app from scratch to match your company’s requirements and performance.
Convert iOS into Android
There are no readymade tools available to convert your iOS app into an Android app. You need to hire Android app developers to create your mobile app. You need to consider numerous factors and decide your strategy to convert the apps. Here are a few standard practices you can follow to ease the process of app portability.
- Make an Accurate Plan
It would help if you created a comprehensive and realistic project plan by identifying your project vision. Mark out your important milestones, such as budget, design, features, architecture, and workflow. With these milestones, create a project roadmap and plan out its release.
Also, it would help if you focused on all the errors and issues that may come forward as a result of conversion. List down all the errors you may face and address them. With proper planning, you can build your Android app that fulfills your business requirements and meet user expectations. Back-end uniqueness, app porting process, and frameworks are the most important aspects you need to maintain to manage the app compatibility.
- Assessment and Implementation of the plan
You need to assess all the technical issues with code, libraries, and third-party services and remove them. After that, choose the correct technologies to convert your apps in a time-consuming manner and begin your app development.
Converting your iOS app means creating a single Android app. Your app development process depends upon what app you are converting, and it takes more time to complete the process. You cannot expect it to be complete in a single week.
Valuation of the plan includes features and material design alternation by developing Android-specific UX and functionality, setting up the back-end, and monetizing the tools.
- App Testing
App testing is essential to ensure quality while porting your apps. You can use emulation tools to test your apps, depending on the development stage. Different mobile app development companies use different methods for app testing.
However, you can use different types of mobile testing, such as load testing, validation, user acceptance testing, and beta testing.
Testing your app helps you identify and fix the bugs initially and save time and money. Just like any other app testing, the process is similar for converted apps.
The app testing consists of 4 steps.
- Designing test plans according to the requirements.
- Develop manual test cases and automate test scripts.
- Perform functional tests to authorize app requirements.
- Execute load tests and tune app performance.
- App Launch
After testing and resolving all issues, your app is ready to be launched on the Play store. You can directly submit your app to the store. Like the Apple store, Google’s Play Store doesn’t require a reviewing process. Thus, your app can become online just after a few hours.
However, before launching your app, there are few things you need to pay attention to, such as app descriptions, demo video, app screenshot, etc.
Challenges you may face while App Porting.
Converting your iOS app into an Android is a bit tricky process. Here are a few challenges you may face while porting your app.
- The difference in App Architecture
Android has so many versions and constantly releases new updates every few months. This annoys Android app developers as it becomes difficult to keep up with the changes and cover all the functionalities. Sometimes, a few features, such as navigation, file management, and compatibility, may not be supported in the older versions.
To avoid this, you need to priorities a few latest android versions that are ruling the market. For example, in 2020, pie 9.0 was the most used version of Android OS; meanwhile, KitKat 4.0 covers 90% of mobile phones.
You can do a survey and figure out which Android versions are most popular nowadays and develop your app according to that.
- Feature Designing
Designing the app features is the most important step to convert your iOS app into Android. Both Operating System has different UI and completely different sets of rules for shape, size, and concept. Apple has human interface guidelines; on the other hand, Android has material design standards.
If you build your app considering your platform, it can make the transaction easier and avoid negative ratings on Play Store.
The key difference between these Operating Systems consists of buttons, lists, tabs, widgets, and navigation elements. To give them more Android feels, you need to redesign the wireframes or keep a simple design and change according to the platforms.
- Libraries, Framework, and Coding
Mobile app development consists of definite sets of rules and libraries. Thus, you need to check the compatibility of your tools to see if they’ll work after converting an iOS app into an Android and if they are not compatible, you need to figure out their alternatives.
Android app developers use Java and Kotlin, while iOS app developers use swift languages. Therefore, you cannot use the code from another OS; you need to rewrite the entire code for the Android app. However, it can take time depending on the app’s complication, design, and architecture.
- Optimization
While porting your mobile app, you may face numerous connectivity errors, such as battery consumption and lag. You can create a seamless transaction by working on those errors and making it easier for users to switch from iOS to Android.
How much it Costs to convert iOS into Android?
The cost of an app depends on the size, location, and complexity of the app. The small app can cost up to $3000, and a larger project can cost up to $20,000.
How much time does it take to port an app?
Usually, it takes up to 5 to 6 months to convert an iOS app into an Android app. Just like the cost, app development time depends on the size and complexity of the app.
Conclusion
Converting iOS apps into Android apps is a custom development project. However, it is not as hard as you think. All you need to do is make a thorough plan and act accordingly. Your systematic approach will make your app porting process smooth and create an identical solution to your iOS app.
If you are looking to hire Android app developers, here at Sysbunny, we have an excellent team of developers to help you visualize your project and create an amazing app for you. So contact us now to kick start your project and take your business up to the next level.
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