Xamarin or Android Studio – Which one to choose for enterprise app development?

Android apps are built in Java as that’s the official language. Developers can use the Android Native Development Kit (NDK) and create apps using C and C++. This method seems a lot more complicated and may be a tedious task.

On the other hand, Xamarin provides a better option for developing apps in C#. One can do anything and everything with Java and enjoy the advantages of the added functionality. If you are a C# programmer and you do not wish to learn other programming languages, you can opt for Xamarin for building cross platform apps. If you use Visual Studio, you can build mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows. If you are well versed with .Net, you can use the same library in Xamarin.

Why use Xamarin?

With Xamarin, you can test the mobile apps as they are developed. It helps to sort out bugs and issues even during the alpha stage of mobile application development. Code reusability is an added advantage of Xamarin. It allows developers build innovative apps without spending a lot of time and money for cross platform mobile app development. The IDEs for Java is easier to implement as compared to C#.

Xamarin developers have to use third-party libraries for developing apps. This can be a real pain for Xamarin developers. Creating bindings to use third-party libraries can be a cumbersome and time-consuming task.

Visual Studio is about 543 MB of download size. Mobile app development with C++ accounts to about ~4 GB, and hence, issues with bandwidth and internet connection may occur. You may have to re-download the components, and waste a lot of time and amount of internet.

What are the new features and functions that have made Xamarin more favorite among the developers and have made Xamarin a futuristic platform?

The latest version of Xamarin offers the following add-ons in an app:

  • The new version of xamarin 4.2.0 is filled with extra features like visual state manager, flex layout, style sheets, and right to left support that helps to build the feature-rich application.
  • IntelliSense engine of WPF and UWP backs the new Xamarin that assist your app with improved matching, binding completion, resource completion, and markup extension completion.
  • The engine plays a dual role as along with backing Xamarin, it also strengthens light bulb suggestions, linting, and code navigation.
  • The new Xamarin 4.2.0 alerts you with the notice to download SDK in the background while you initiate an android project with uninstalled SDK, that’s an advanced android SDK Management.
  • Ready to use updated Android Project Templates.
  • The new version does not stop here but helps build smaller applications, consumption of memory is reduced, facilitates in faster application startup

Advantages of Xamarin

Open Source platform:
Xamarin acquainted by Microsoft is an open-source platform for all that has various components free to use. Developers can replace, change, and separate those components with complete freedom and flexibility as per their requirement.

Single technology for all platforms:
Xamarin being an open-source platform uses c# to code and build an app for android, iOS or windows. Xamarin allows developers to use .net tools and library specifically to build apps for Android, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, macOS, and windows that make is the cost-effective and first choice of developers and the clients that posses future in it.

Mobile App Testing made quick and easy:
The new version of xamarin has the great benefit of automation testing on the cloud. There is no need of a mobile device with the same OS to test, with this advanced xamarin cloud testing feature, any app can be tested on any version of the mobile device no matter if it’s Android, iOS, Windows or any other. Hence, this has brought a great change that helps in making any changes if required also saves time and money both for you.

Xamarin.Forms:
Xamarin.forms offers to craft many user interfaces, a potential framework for creating a cross-platform application using .Net. when you wish to develop an iOS or Android application, xamarin.forms make it easier and faster to create an application with functionalities.
In simple words, it is a cross-platform toolkit used to create native interface layouts that can be occupied across Android, iOS, and windows phone.

Easy and Fast Mobile App Development:
EFMAP is the most loved Pros of xamarin development of xamarin among the clients and developer that satisfies both aspects of giving feel like a native app and cost-effective. The new libraries built-in have made the process of developing an application on any platform easy and fast with great user experience.

Complete Access to the API:
Restrictions of not linking native libraries, system update, half access and control over APIs is now has been conquered by Xamarin. With the new 4.2.0 Xamarin update, specific APIs of the native app can be integrated now that makes common functionalities for Android and iOS possible.

Xamarin Gives the Feel of a Native App:
Xamarin is no less than any platform, it consists of powerful frameworks and libraries that are potential enough to give the same feeling experienced in Android or iOS app built using native app platform.

Xamarin now gives the same feeling and user experience as it is obtained when built in Swift, Objective-C or Java.

What makes Android Studio popular?

Android Studio is the official IDEA for Android. When you choose Android Studio, it is limited to Android app development only. If you want to develop apps for other platforms in Java, then you may have to learn another ID also.

One major difference between Xamarin and Android Studio is seen in the file structure of IDEs. Android Studio includes Gradle – a tool that Google uses for Android Studio. It also helps to manage the compilers and APK Packager.

Android Studio has Graphical User Interface (GUI), which makes it easier for the coders to manage the visual elements of the applications. Android Studio makes use of modules to organize and manage the core modules. The modules have their own Gradle built files that are capable of stating their own dependencies. Android Studio looks more natural as compared to other mobile app development tools.

The difference is that Xamarin uses MSBuild to complete this task and Android Studio uses Gradle. However, this is a simplified conclusion, and by looking at the documentation, I can tell there is a lot more to this subject.

It is a fact that you can take the advantage of the native UI when using Android SDK. It doesn’t mean that Android only offers this option. Xamarin also has built UI design environments for Xamarin Studio and Visual Studio. They have specialized UI and UX design tools as Android. It means that you get the same look and feel as well as the same power when you choose Xamarin instead of Android SDK.

Features of Android Studio

The latest version of the android is 3.5.1 and is launched in October by Google.
Below are given some of the most effective features that are good in Android Studio 3.5.1 version

Auto-recommend Memory Settings:

The android developer can modify the setting when the project needs extra RAM on a Machine.

Build Speed:

The best annotation processors have been enhanced with Incremental support, which includes Glide, AndroidX data binding, Dagger, Realm, and Kotlin

UI Freezes:

XML typing has been working faster because of typing latency has improved.

Disk I/O File Access Speed:

Now android studio helps in guiding for integrating optimal setup, with this feature window user has improved access time for Disk I/O.

Apply Changes:

In apply changes, Google has done changes in an “instant run” framework which allows Android Developer editing the code on the device itself without restarting the application.

Comparison between xamarin vs android:

Key points Xamarin Android studio
Language used C# JAVA and C++
Code sharing YES, Same code run onandroid, iOS,windows No
Performance Great Outstanding
Development time Low, beacuse it takesextra development time for each platform High, beacuse add anextratime for another platform like iOSor windows
Development Cost Low, as save a each platfoem development costing High, as it needsadditional money for iOS and Windowsdevelopment
Hardware capabilities High, as it usesa Platform sfor pecific API High as it have complete support from system.

Will it be up to date?

When you develop a mobile app with Android SDK, you will be up to date with the latest APIs from Google. You can also receive support for the new APIs as soon as they are available for use.

Xamarin also has instant access to Google’s latest Android APIs. Xamarin stays up to date with the latest releases and offers full support for Android APIs.

Developers would like to move but…

If you have worked on a lot of Android apps in Java, you may be tempted to stick to what you’ve been doing for years. Xamarin Studio allows you to call existing Java code from C#. It means that your code, frameworks, and custom controls can be brought into Xamarin app with the help of the environment’s automatic binding generator.

Conclusion

Xamarin Studio offers a lot of benefits to the developers and users.But we can’t ignore the advantages of using Android SDK when using a fully supported environment and C#. i-Verve is a top Xamarin App development company specializing in building cross platform applications using the latest tools and technologies.