Start developing Native Android Apps Today...What you Need

Learning Android app development for beginners might sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s start at the very beginning. Why would beginners want to learn Android development?
There are plenty of good answers to that question. Android gives you direct access to more than two billion monthly users. It’s the number one mobile operating system and stands well above iOS in terms of sheer numbers. Android doesn’t just run on phones, but also on tablets, televisions, and smartwatches. Now Android apps can even run on Chrome OS! Sure, iOS users traditionally spend more on their apps, but even that gap is starting to close, as Android users become more willing to shell out for their software.
By this time I know you are already interested in creating an Android app. An android app can either be native or hybrid. Most of the apps on Google Play are native, so I prefer native Android apps. Don't get confused, I will be explaining the difference between native and hybrid Android apps in a later post. Android is relatively easy to develop for. It’s not necessarily simpler to code for, but there are fewer barriers to entry than other platforms.

Programming Languages

In my opinion, to develop a native android app you will need good knowledge of Java programming language or Kotlin programming language. These are the two Google's official programming languages for Android. As for me, I'm well conversant with Java for Android. Kotlin is a new programming language and has not been widely researched. You also need knowledge of XML as it is required during the design process.(XML is not a programming language but a markup language). Don't worry if you have not learnt XML, you can learn it along the way as you develop your app. Android Studio's drag & drop feature will assist you during the design phase and as well assist you to understand XML.

Tools and SDKs

Gone are the days when Android developers used to write Android apps in Eclipse. Google developed its own IDE Android Studio which is a very strong IDE targeted to develop large android projects. LinkedIn uses android studio by the way. You can learn how to download and install Android Studio here. You also need the Java Development Kit installed on your computer. The Android Studio bundle comes combined with the android studio setup and the Android SDK.

Hardware specifications

Android Studio is not usually stable on a low performing computer and that can be very frustrating. Gradle builds require higher performance. You can install Android Studio on your laptop or desktop computer. If you want to do android development professionally and give fast results on your projects, get these specs for your computer:

• 8 GB RAM or above
• A 2.0 GHz processor or above ( either i3, i5 or i7) The faster the better.
• I prefer using a computer with an SSD(Solid State Drive) and not a HDD( Hard Disk Drive). SSD offers faster read and write speeds. 

As for me, I have been using a HP Intel i3, 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. Android Studio runs well until I start multitasking when it starts slowing down. However, I am considering and upgrade.

[EDIT]. YES! ...I upgraded! I now use a HP FOLIO 13 for all development work. It has a 512GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and an Intel i5 Processor. The experience so far has been wonderful. I use windows because of the nature of my job(we develop .NET apps). However, I get some lags with the emulator but soon and very soon I am migrating to Ubuntu..Linux is an amazing OS for developers.

Conclusion

Android development is not hard to learn. Just some little patience and dedication. Read my blog further as I will be showing you how to develop your first android app and install it on your smartphone.