Businesses target Android when developing mobile apps because of its enormous global mobile operating system market share. Alphabet has released Android as an open source smartphone platform. It also regularly upgrades the mobile operating system with new features and advancements. However, the penetration rate of different versions of the mobile operating system varies.

Alphabet does not control the Android smartphones, tablets, and phablets produced by numerous companies. As a result, despite being powered by the same version of Android, handsets manufactured by different vendors have varying physical specifications. As a result, it is critical for developers to create mobile apps that target a diverse range of devices powered by different versions of Android.

While planning, developing, and testing the mobile app, they must pay close attention to its accessibility, functionality, performance, usability, and security in order to keep consumers engaged regardless of their Android device of choice. They must also investigate ways to make the app provide a tailored user experience across a variety of devices and operating system versions. In order to create a solid Android app, they must also handle a number of frequent issues.

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Understanding the 7 Most Common Obstacles Faced by Android App Developers

1) Fragmentation of software

As previously stated, the market share of each Android versions varies. According to Google's most recent data, 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 introduces a slew of new features and improvements. By utilising these new features, developers must include specified features in the app to provide the best user experience possible. Simultaneously, they must ensure that the app provides a rich and personalised user experience on devices running older versions of Android. To make the application popular and lucrative in the short term, the developers must target multiple versions of Android.

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2) Distinctive Hardware Features

Android, unlike previous mobile operating systems, is open source. Alphabet lets device manufacturers to tailor its operating system to their specific requirements. Furthermore, it does not govern the Android devices released by diverse manufacturers. As a result, although being powered by the same version of Android, the devices have differing physical specifications. For example, two Android Nougat-powered devices may differ in terms of display screen size, resolution, camera, and other hardware features. When creating an Android app, developers must ensure that it provides a tailored experience to each user by gaining access to all hardware aspects of his smartphone.

3) There is no standardised process or set of rules for designing user interfaces.

Google has not published a standardised user interface (UI) design process or set of principles for mobile app developers. As a result, most developers create Android apps without adhering to any conventional UI development methodology or principles. When developers construct their own proprietary UI interfaces, the apps may not look or operate reliably across multiple devices. The inconsistency and diversity of the UI have a direct impact on the user experience provided by the Android app. Smart developers use responsive layouts to keep the UI consistent across multiple devices. In addition, developers must thoroughly evaluate the user interface of their mobile app using both real devices and emulators. However, it is typically difficult for developers to design a UI that ensures the app looks similar across multiple Android devices.

4) Incompatibility with API

Third-party APIs are commonly used by developers to improve the functionality and compatibility of mobile apps. The quality of third-party APIs offered to Android app developers, on the other hand, varies. Some APIs are tailored to a specific version of Android. As a result, certain APIs are inoperable on devices running different versions of the mobile operating system. The developers must investigate methods for making a single API function on different versions of Android. However, they frequently find it difficult to make the app run properly on multiple Android devices using the same set of APIs.

5) Security Vulnerabilities

Because Android is open source, device makers can easily tweak it to meet their individual demands. However, Android's openness and enormous market share made it subject to frequent security breaches. There have been numerous occasions where security flaws or bugs have compromised the security of millions of Android devices, including Stagefright, 'Certifi-gate' mRST, FakeID, Installer Hijacking, and TowelRoot. To keep user information secure in the face of targeted security assaults and security holes in Android, developers must add powerful security measures in the application and employ the most up-to-date encryption mechanisms.

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6) Visibility on Android Search Engines

According to the most recent data available on several websites, Google Play Store has a significantly greater quantity of mobile apps than Apple App Store. Furthermore, a sizable proportion of Android device users prefer free apps versus commercial ones. As a result, developers must aggressively promote their mobile apps in order to achieve larger download numbers and integrate app monetization possibilities. They must also create a complete digital marketing strategy to promote the app to the most appropriate consumers. Many developers must hire digital marketing pros to aggressively promote their software.

7) Patent Problems

Users can select from a number of Android apps that offer similar features and functionalities. However, it can be difficult for developers to create apps with unique features and usefulness. They frequently put features and functionalities in the app that make it comparable to a lot of apps in the same category available in the Play store. Unlike Apple, Google does not have strict criteria in place to evaluate the quality of new programmes submitted to its app store. Due to a lack of defined quality assessment guidelines, developers are frequently forced to solve patent-related issues. To avoid patent difficulties, some developers will have to redesign and adapt their programmes in the future.