Android app development - what tech to use

[SimonMac]

Apps are old hat, design a service that can be run in just a webpage and you will be forever set

[TheDude]

If your background is C# then learning Java shouldn't be a huge issue.

I suspect the real learning curve will be the Android platform itself.

[jamsandwich]

It's likely I'm going to be developing an android app at work. It will actually be re-developing an existing app (supplied by another company), but probably starting from scratch. I believe the existing app was written using Xamarin.

I've not done any mobile app development (Android, iOS) before. My background is C#, .NET, Windows, ASP.NET/MVC, SQL Server. The machine I'll be using for development will most likely be a Windows laptop. Possibly Windows 10 but if they offer to buy a new machine I think I'd probably suggest Windows 11 (Professional).

I'm thinking about what development tools & language to use. Since my background is C# & .NET, Xamarin & Visual Studio seem like the obvious choice. However, one of Xamarin's advantages is cross platform. but I think the app will be Android only (no iOS requirement), so cross platform is not really relevant.

I've done a little research and it looks like the "official" way do develop Android apps is using Android Studio with either Java (traditional way) or Kotlin (the newer way). I guess I could learn either Java or Kotlin if I put my mind to it. However, since it's a "real" app to be used in a commercial environment, I wonder whether I would be biting off more than I could chew; would the learning curve be too steep, considering that I'd also be learning mobile/Android development in addition to learning the language (Java or Kotlin)? Also, I'm new in the job, so still learning the business processes and getting familiar with the existing systems, database, etc.

So far the pros & cons seem to be:


Xamarin

pros - leverage my existing C#, .NET, VS experience. Possibility of adapting to cross-platform (iOS) in future although seems unlikely to be required. Developed app should be almost as fast as similar app developed in Android Studio & Java/Kotlin (maybe 15 percent slower?). Should be able to get a copy of the source code for the existing Xamarin app, and therefore could use that as a reference to learn how things were done in the existing system.

cons - limited support for software libraries compared with Android Studio & Java/Kotlin. Have also seen a few comments online about bugs, although I'm not sure how much notice to take about that; seems to me that there are always people who find problems or something to criticise about any product or technology.


Android Studio & Java/Kotlin

pros - The "native" tech for the platform (Android). Large choice of software libraries.

cons - Steep learning curve considering my development experience background


Keep in mind that the above comments are just my current, limited understanding, based on a few hours of searching online.