How to Convert An iOS App to Android App Development [Updated]

Last updated on August 16th, 2023

Do You want to Convert An iOS App to Android App Development? Any firm that wants to expand its access and connect with more customers from iOS-based to Android devices could come up with the brilliant concept of converting an app made for iOS to its Android equivalent. The critical takeaway is that, given its undisputed 80% market share in the operating system space, the Android system offers companies rich chances. To increase your brand’s awareness among a larger audience, the transformation, as mentioned above, involves expanding your brand’s online outreach.

Unbelievably, the Android OS rivals the iOS platform in fierce competition. As noted in this piece, Android’s competitive edge over iOS is startlingly different.

Conversion Cost

Any straightforward iOS application typically takes between one and six months, depending on the program’s sophistication, functionality, foundations, and design.

The type of mobile app development company you hire will determine the cost of migrating to a different platform (in this case, from iOS to Android). Size and features affect the price. However, it may range from a mild $20,000 to $60,000 on average. It would be helpful if you thought about the following things before jumping to conclusions.

Operating System

The current purpose of the applications; Android user interface or iOS user interface, depends on the Adoption of coding languages, How well the physical components and the software interact, ensuring the security of transferred code using software developer kits or SDKs the various devices categories and the Android versions supported.

Challenges faced while trying to Convert An iOS App to Android App Development

• Code Portability
• Features of the design
• Various screen dimensions and resolutions
• Difference in Architecture
• Libraries, framework and codes

While the conversion from iOS to Android sounds interesting, it has its fair share of challenges. Let’s figure out what they are so we can think forward and eliminate them:

1. Code Portability

Programming for iOS mobile devices mainly uses languages such as Swift and Objective-C, but app developers frequently use Kotlin and Java to create Android apps. Every coding language has specific semantics. It can be challenging to translate a program written in one specific language into another. Therefore, the time and resources needed to develop the same function for several platforms may vary. iOS and Android developers create high-caliber applications to provide a great user experience.

2. Features of the design

The companies involved in developing Android apps create the app per the demands of the updated software platform. Both systems have their series of guidelines for the program’s structure, form, and idea. Apple adopts rules for human interface, but Android, on the other hand, adopts standards for Material design. This makes for simpler interactions that are clear-cut.

Bars, icons, lists, plugins, data, navigational components, and time divisions are the two systems’ main distinctions. Android app programmers redesign the wireframes to have an Android appearance. You might like to customize the very same layout or have just one.

3. Various screen dimensions and resolutions

The greatest and most frequent problem programmers encounter when porting an iOS app to Android is adapting the iOS User Interface for different screen sizes. The screen dimensions and resolutions differ for every gadget. Apple products have set display specifications. Hundreds of businesses produce Android smartphones, in contrast. Therefore, it is crucial to guarantee that compatibility for a variety of display sizes and resolution is available. A typical aperture can be chosen by the designer when creating visual materials.

The iOS developers main obstacle when changing the port is that the dimensions of iOS and Android are very different. Additionally, the business must create the proper bitmap size dependent on the device.

4. Difference in Architecture

Every system, whether it is iOS or Android, is constructed with a specific architecture in mind. When the time comes to port from one system to another, the biggest challenge is finding common ground in architectural differences. Versions of both iOS and Android are upgraded virtually annually. Features available in the latest version may be absent in the past version. While this is a great thing, it comes with its challenges. App developers work hard to ensure the new version runs without any issues, at least among the most widely used operating system versions. One of the ways to accomplish this is to select the OS versions you want to support Simply, and the developers will handle the rest.

Android is famous for releasing too many updates and frequently adding new functionality. Changes are frequently made to navigation, file management, notification, and app compatibility. To address over 90 percent of the total all mobile devices, it is essential to engage in quality app development services.

5. Libraries, framework and codes

Rules and libraries are constantly included in the development of mobile applications. The Android developers and programmers evaluate the proposed Android app for compliance with specific guidelines. While iPhone apps employ Swift as their primary language, most Android developers work with Kotlin or Java. Code designed for one system cannot be used on another. But the Objective-C programming language works with both platforms.

The UI design of your app needs to be revised by the iOS app programmers. This occurs due to the different user interface programming, API implementation, and SDK use on the two platforms. To rebuild both underlying codes and wireframes, programmers burn the midnight oil.

Do You Convert Your existing iOS App to Android App Development?

Related Article: Top 12 Mobile App Development Trends to Watch

Complete procedure to Convert an iOS App to Android App Development

• Planning
• Design
• Execution and Coding
• Testing and Launch

Converting an iOS app to an Android app since the coding, framework, and architecture are completely different. But our talented app developers have made that happen. With precision, planning, and effort, anything is possible. Let’s find out how that happens:

Stage 1: Planning

When we talk about analysis and planning, it signifies your present iPhone version, its capabilities, layout, workflow, and attributes. You should also consider potential blunders and troubles and make decisions regarding those situations.

You can come up with a solution or improve the Android app. The interoperability of the back-end peculiarities, the app porting procedure, technologies, and libraries must be thoroughly examined.

Stage 2: Design

This is the first stage in an attempt to convert iOS app development to Android app development. These two operating system environments have distinct behaviors from one another and are entirely different structure-wise. Therefore, as a software development team, you must refrain from copying the design aspects when converting your iPhone version to Android. Android benefits from Material Design. The components’ adaptability is the true novelty of this interface. In contrast, iOS is created using a minimal design.

Stage 3: Execution and Coding

The project team will completely redesign the app’s code for this project. The “time-consuming” components of the product must thus be given top priority. However, when converting the code to run on Android, a language called the “basic C code” can be utilized. Porting an iPhone app to an Android is easy, with numerous libraries to enhance efficiency. Furthermore, PhoneGap is widely used to create bridge apps if you intend to write the entire code from scratch.

You must assess every technical problem involving the program, frameworks, and 3rd solutions. Selecting the appropriate tech stack at this point is essential to enable porting from one app to another accurately and time-efficiently and then start the development process.

It is not practical to anticipate the work to be finished in a couple of days because the process of generating an app relies on the type of program you would like to convert. Moving an iPhone version to an Android platform, or from one platform to another, is comparable to moving an App to Android.

We’ve included a list below that lists the essential elements needed before you begin converting. 

• Language: The preferred programming language for iOS is Swift or Objective-C, while on the other hand, for Android, it is Java or Kotlin.
• Development Operating System: For iOS, it’s latest Mac OS X, and for Android, it is Ubuntu
• Store: For iOS, it is the iTunes App Store, and for Android, it is Google Play and Amazon, among others.

Stage 4: Testing and Launch

This is the last step and needs to be paid extra attention to. Usually, businesses get so excited after the coding is done that they do not run enough attempts on the app before launching it. The app is made for the people and by the people. Therefore, no stone must be left unturned in running quality checks.

After the tests have been run multiple times and any bugs (if any) have been fixed, it is time to launch the app.

Related Article: iOS vs. Android: Which is the Best Mobile App Development Platform?

Do You Want to convert an iOS app to Android app development From iTechnolabs?

Understanding the dynamics of how to convert an iOS app to an Android app development is a delicate process. Still, it is essential to creating world-class mobile apps for a better user experience. An accomplished mobile application development company like iTechnolabs can be an optimal choice for this conversion.

Frequently Asked Questions to Convert An iOS App to Android App Development

1. How much does it cost to develop an iOS app?

The cost of development of an iOS app depends upon a number of factors which are stated below – 

• Native vs. cross-platform app development
• Number of features and functionalities
• Size and category of the application
• Complexity of the iOS app to be developed
• Size, location, and diversity of the development team
• App design sophistication

On the basis of size and complexity of the app, the cost estimation of an iOS application is stated below – 

• Simple App – $ 15000
• Moderately Complex App – $ 37000
• Highly Complex App – $ 100000

2. What are the challenges in android app development?

The challenges faced by developers in android app development are given below. Please take a look – 

• As the number of devices in android ecosystem are many, it becomes a hassle to develop an operating system that adapts to all the devices that are so much diverse in nature

• Again, with so many diverse devices into play, it becomes cumbersome to develop a single user interface that resonates perfectly with all the devices

• As android is an open source software, it becomes susceptible to a lot of cyberattacks which hampers its security

• It become difficult for the android developers to ensure smooth API integration in case of Android apps