Is there an easy way to convert my apple apps into android apps?

Question

I am an app developer and I use Xcode to develop all my apps, but seeing in today's market a lot of people now have non apple devices. So I guess I'm wondering if there's an easy way to take my code for my apple apps and convert it to android format so I can submit to both markets?

Also does Android have their own version of "iAds"?

Answer 1

I agree with Ben, I was in the same boat a few months ago since the only mobile development I had done was on Xcode and I was trying to find ways to convert my existing project but instead I opted to just build a new version using Android Studio. As Ben said, even if you convert the iOS app, some of the UI and design patterns are different when comparing an iOS App to an Android App (for example iOS uses tableviews and the cells can have disclosure indicators while on Android you would need to use a list view and not use a disclosure indicator since it goes against the design patterns for Android). I would suggest taking a look at the Android documentation, specifically the recommended design patterns as that will help give you an idea of how much you would need to change to make your code work for Android.

You can use your iOS app's code as a guide to your Android app since even though the language is different, the overall structure would be pretty close.

Answer 2

You could share some parts of your android application with iOs using j2objc which converts java to objective-c. However anything that relies on the android framework will not work (the same would apply if you found something to convert it obj-c to java).

You could use something like Phonegap or Appcelerator. You would write code in javascript, HTML, CSS and then it would create iOS and android applications for you.

However there is some things that cannot be done using these technologies. I know that to get around this appcelerator allows you to create native modules.

You will never get an app on both platforms for 'free' there is always a cost involved whether it requires more work or you loose some features on one or both the platforms.

You need to work out how complex your application is going to be and what parts could be separated into a shared module/library. You would also need to consider how you are going to visually represent your app, it would be easier to come up with some middle ground between android and iOS than it would be to create iOS visuals on android or vice-versa.

If your making a game take a look at unity