Best Android Development Tools (ADT) List to Know in 2024

Quick Summary: Android app development is a vast mobile app development platform which is only going to increase in popularity and number of users in the following years. In this blog, we will discuss the top Android development tools to help you create scalable, cost-effective, time-efficient & future-ready Android app solutions.

The most productive field of software development is Android development. Today, more than six billion people use Android phones, according to Statista. Which is expected to expand rapidly in the future.

According to Statista,

Google Play Store had 3.48 billion apps in the first quarter of 2021.

There were around 2.22 million apps accessible in the Apple Store in first quarter of 2021.

Android development makes use of a variety of tools; with so many alternatives, it’s difficult to determine which one is best for you. This post will break down the best Android Tools into 12 categories to help you find the best fit for your needs.

The categories are as follows:

  1. Android Editors
  2. Cross-Platform Framework
  3. Open-Source
  4. Android Performance Tools
  5. Android Debugging Tools
  6. Android UI development tools
  7. Android Testing Tools
  8. Android Game Development Tools
  9. Android Emulators
  10. Android Analytics Tools
  11. Android Payment Integrations
  12. Android Security Tools

Android app development tools categories

Let’s get started.

Best Android IDE Tools

Developing Android apps demand a significant amount of programming, which by default entails inputting, reviewing, and updating lines of code. As a result, the majority of a coder’s time is spent on the Android IDE Tools. The current code editor must go well beyond the traditional typing, deleting, cutting, and pasting functions. Today, a code IDE’s utility is determined by criteria such as how much it decreases the amount of typing necessary by the programmer, the ease with which it navigates big source code files, and the IDE’s capacity to detect and indicate programming errors in real-time as the code is produced. Let’s take a look at the list of Android IDEs.

Android Studio (Free)

Based on IntelliJ IDE, Android Studio is the official Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Android app development. Android Studio, in addition to IntelliJ’s strong code editor and Android developer tools, includes additional capabilities that improve your efficiency when developing Android apps.

Features

  • A Flexible Gradle-based system
  • Fast and Feature-rich environment.
  • Unified Environment
  • Code Templates and GitHub Integration.
  • Extensive Testing tools and frameworks
  • Support of Lint tools for performance issues.
  • Built-in compatibility for Google Cloud Platform.
  • Apply Changes to your running program to make code and resource changes without having to restart it.
  • C++ and NDK support.

Fabric (Free)

Fabric is the platform on which Twitter’s mobile app is built. It allows developers to create better mobile apps by giving them a collection of “kits” from which to choose. Everything from beta-testing to marketing and promotion tools is included in these kits. The fabric was acquired by Google from Twitter in January of 2017. It is now migrated to firebase. Uber, Spotify, Square, Groupon, Yelp, and other well-known companies have used Fabric to create mobile apps.

Features

  • Curated crash reports
  • cures for common crash
  • Integrated with Analytics
  • Realtime alerts

AIDE (Free)

AIDE, which has been downloaded over 2 million times, allows you to design Android apps or websites directly from your Android device. It contains interactive programming training for beginners and allows you to earn stars as your coding skills improve. It’s available for download on Google Play, where it has a 4.3-star rating. It’s the most popular Java compiler for Android and C++ development on a mobile IDE. The free edition of this Android Development Tool includes practically all of the essential features, including the ability to create Android apps. The tool that allows you to develop user interfaces straight inside the IDE is a premium feature that is worth mentioning. You don’t even have to start the app. Most other IDEs lack this feature.

Features

  • Integrated programming lessons
  • Support for Web development
  • Integrates with Dropbox, Git & PhoneGap
  • Smart code completion
  • Life error checking
  • Refactoring
  • Code navigation

B4A ( Free)

B4A (Basic for Android) is a strong yet easy Android development environment for devices. The B4A language is similar to Visual Basic, but it has object support. There are no extra runtimes or dependencies in B4A built applications because they are native Android applications. B4A, unlike other popular Android Development Tools IDEs, is solely dedicated to Android only.

B4A comes with a robust GUI builder that supports many screens and orientations right out of the box. There is no need to write XML. You can use a real device linked through B4A Bridge, a real device connected by a USB cable, or an Android emulator to build and debug. B4A comes with a large library that makes it simple to create complex applications.

Features

  • SQL databases
  • GPS
  • Serial ports (Bluetooth)
  • Camera
  • XML parsing
  • Web services (HTTP
  • Services (background tasks)
  • JSON
  • Animations
  • Network (TCP and UDP)
  • Text To Speech (TTS)
  • Voice Recognition
  • WebView
  • AdMob (ads)
  • Charts
  • OpenGL
  • Graphics and more

Cross-Platform Framework

A cross-platform app development framework is a collection of tools that enable you to create native or native-like apps for many platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, and the Web, using a single codebase. Furthermore, in today’s fast-paced technological environment, you must have strong cross-platform mobile app development tools. The reason for this is simple: creating cross-platform software allows your product to reach a wider audience at a lower cost. Let’s have a look at one of the most widely used cross-platform frameworks.

 

React Native (Free)

One of the leading cross-platform mobile development frameworks is React Native. It’s built with React, the prominent JavaScript toolkit for developing user interfaces, and it’s optimized for smartphones.

The main advantage of React Native is that it allows you to construct cross-platform solutions using a JavaScript language as well as native platform-specific languages like Java, C, and Swift. As a result, the source code can be converted into native parts using this framework. Without learning any new skills, developers can quickly construct a mobile application.

Features

  • Write Once Use Anywhere.
  • UI Focused.
  • Programming Language.
  • Strong Community.
  • Tried & Tested.
  • Support For 3rd Party Libraries.
  • NPM For Installation.
  • Mobile Environment Performance.

Flutter (Free)

Despite not being around as much as other frameworks, the Flutter cross-platform app framework is carving out a niche for itself in today’s market. Flutter is a software development kit (SDK) that lets you create high-performance apps for iOS, Android, the web, and desktop using a single codebase. Google built this cross-platform open-source UI SDK, which was first released in May 2017.

Flutter makes use of the Dart programming language, which is easier to understand for JavaScript or Java developers and supports most object-oriented concepts.

Flutter may be the finest cross-platform solution for you if you want to create a custom app for both iOS and Android. This app development tool is used to create well-known apps such as Google Ads, Alibaba, and others.

The optimum feature of this app is that it includes widgets, which helps improve the appearance of an app. To give a full native-like performance, widgets include various functions like scrolling, navigation, fonts, icons, and so on.

Features

  • All platforms have similar UI & Business Logic
  • Reduced Code Development Time
  • Improved Time-to-Market Efficiency
  • Similar to Native App Performance
  • Any complexity of custom animated UI is available
  • Create your Rendering Engine
  • Simple Platform-Specific Logic Implementation
  • Potential Ability to Go Beyond Mobile

Ionic (Freemium)

Ionic Framework is a cross-platform, open-source UI toolkit for creating high-performing, high-quality mobile and desktop apps utilizing web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, with support for popular JavaScript frameworks such as Angular, React, and Vue. It was released in 2013 by Adam Bradley, Max Lynch, and Ben Sperry.

Because of the Apache Cordova, the application created in the Ionic framework is a hybrid HTML app. This android cross-platform development tool can be used on various other platforms such as iOS, Desktop, and Web with a single code base i.e HTML. This famous cross-platform provides pre-designed components, typography, Expressive and Flexible UI, and a base theme that adapts each platform.

This framework is simple to use and comprehend, and it makes use of APIs like TypeScript, Virtual DOM, JSX, and async, which are ideal for Progressive Web Apps (PWA). The Ionic framework is used to create apps like Pacifica, Nationwide, ChefSteps, and others.

Despite this, Ionic’s popularity is dropping comparatively.

Features

  • Cross-Platform
  • Web Standards
  • Beautiful design
  • Simplicity
  • Cordova Plugin
  • Framework compatibility
  • JavaScript components
  • Web components
  • Support of NDK
  • Ionic CLI

Kotlin

Kotlin is a modern yet already matured programming language. It’s safe, concise, interpolable with java and other languages. It provides various ways to reuse the code between multiple platforms and productive programming. JetBrains created it as a statistically typed general-purpose programming language. A new language for JVM was initially introduced in 2011. Google sponsors Kotlin, which is an object-oriented language. It’s now recognized as one of the official android native app development tools.

Features

  • Great Readability
  • Concise code
  • Null safety
  • Expressive code
  • Modern features
  • Interoperability with Java
  • JavaScript transpilation
  • Native conversion (Kotlin Native)
  • Open Source
  • Lazy loading feature

Note: Please keep in mind that for iOS development in Kotlin, MacOS is Compulsory.

Open-source

Open-source software is distributed under a license that makes the source code legally accessible to end-users. The source code can be repurposed into new software, which means that anyone can take the source code and modify it to include the features they want, then release their program.

GitHub (Free)

GitHub is a Git repository hosting service. When working in a group, this is an online platform for sharing projects and keeping track of numerous versions (called “forks”) of those projects. It’s useful for backing up your work, collaborating with others, and finding code examples and tutorials to go through. For the beginner, the exposure will be limited to downloading the original projects and reverse engineer them. But if you’re working as a developer on large apps with the team, you should familiarise yourself with GitHub.

Features

  • Collaborative coding
  • Automation and CI/CD
  • Security
  • Enterprise Security
  • Project management
  • Team Administration

Firebase (Free)

Firebase is more than just a single tool; it’s an entire suite of Android developer tools! This is Google’s package of cloud services for mobile and web developers, and it includes everything from AdMob monetization to secure authentication, machine learning (ML Kit), and analytics. Firebase offers several free services, including analytics, crash reporting, user authentication, and cloud messaging. Real-time NoSQL databases, file hosting, and static website hosting are among its freemium services. The following are the primary Firebase product categories:

  • “Develop”: authentication, database, storage, hosting, etc.
  • “Quality”: crash reporting, performance, and testing.
  • “Analytics”: conversions, audiences, funnels, etc.
  • “Grow”: predictions, A/B testing, cloud and in-app messaging, etc.

The cheapest subscription, termed “Spark,” is completely free and contains a wide range of Firebase features, from performance monitoring to real-time databases, so it’s well worth a shot.

Features

  • Incredible Built-in Analytics
  • Unlimited Reporting
  • Audience Segmentation
  • Integration with other services.
  • App Development Mode Easy
  • Crash reporting
  • Real-time database storage

MLkit (Free)

Machine learning(ML) is quickly becoming an important part of mobile app development. But it isn’t the easiest thing to add to your app. To use ML you need to have a deep understanding of neural networks, data analysis, train and optimize those models to run efficiently. ML Kit is an Android developer tool that allows you to add machine learning functionality to your app from Google.  That means adding things like computer vision and OCR without needing a giant budget and heaps of big data.

Features

  • Text recognition
  • Face detection
  • Barcode scanning
  • Image labeling
  • Landmark recognition
  • Language detection
  • Smart reply
  • Using custom TensorFlow Lite models

IntellijIDEA (Freemium)

IntelliJIDEA is a Java-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that aims to boost developer productivity. It takes care of the mundane and repetitive duties for you by providing intelligent code completion, static code analysis, and refactorings, allowing you to concentrate on the more pleasurable aspects of software development. IntellijIDEA is a cross-platform Android App Development Tool that provides consistent experience on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

It comes in three editions:

  1. IntellijIDEA Ultimate (Paid Version)
  2. IntellijIDEA CommunityEdition (Free Version)
  3. IntellijIDEA Edu (Free Version)

Features

  • Smart Code Completion
  • Chain Code Completion
  • Static Member Completion
  • Detecting Duplicates
  • Inspection and Quick Fix
  • Editor Centric Enviorment
  • Shortcuts for Everything
  • Inline Debugger

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Android Performance Tools

The performance of an Android app is the most crucial part of its development. If your application is slow, users are more likely to reject it. The better your app performs in the market, the more probable it is to succeed. In a world where people are always linked to their phones, it’s vital to deliver the results that people anticipate.

70% of consumers will abandon an app, if it takes too long time to load.

25% of consumers delete apps after just one use due to poor performance, resulting in a bad Google Play store rating.

It’s not enough to know that your features are functional; you also need to test how they act on various devices, networks, and hardware. It’s challenging to choose from the numerous tools on the market. Let’s have a look at some of the more popular options.

Apache JMeter (Free)

The most extensively used Android development tool for mobile performance testing is JMeter. It’s a free, open-source program with expandable capability (due to plugin support) and a user-friendly interface. A variety of testing options are available, including numerous load generators and controllers. It’s also possible to utilize the software for volume and availability testing. Data visualization tools and HTML-rich reporting are supported by JMeter. The development team provides detailed documentation to users, making it easy to grasp the program.

Features

  • Open-Source
  • Simple and intuitive GUI
  • Can support various servers (HTTP,HTTPS,LDAP,POP3,etc)
  • Supports swing and lightweight components.
  • Multithreading framework
  • Highly extensible.

Flow Up (Freemium)

FlowUp helps you to keep track of all of your production apps’ performance. Utilizing this Android app development tool, you can keep a record of your analytics and metrics, such as CPU and disc consumption, memory usage, frames per second, bandwidth, and more, with the help of dashboards. Flow Up is a SaaS service that charges a monthly subscription fee based on the number of users.

Features

  • Frame-Per-Second
  • Frame time
  • CPU Usage
  • Memory Consumption
  • Disk Allocated
  • Bytes Allocated
  • TCP/UDP Traffic

Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager (Free)

The AVD Manager, short for Android Virtual Device, is another essential tool of Android Studio. The AVD Manager is a computer emulator that allows you to run Android apps. This Android development tool gives developers the chance to test responsiveness and performance across a variety of Android devices, including different versions, screen sizes, and resolutions. AVD contains a Hardware Profile, System Image, Storage Area, Skin, and other properties. Based on the <uses-sdk> parameter in your manifest, it is recommended that you construct an AVD for each system image that your app could potentially support.

Features

  • Create Virtual Device
  • Hardware selection
  • Select the System Image
  • Configure Settings for Camera, RAM, Network, Storage, and much more
  • Different types of Skins

Strict Mode (Free)

Strict Mode (android.os.StrictMode) is an Android developer tool that detects and alerts you to things you might be doing incorrectly. According to Android, keeping disc and network activities off the main thread makes the app more responsive and smooth. Improving the application’s performance. This tool was first released in Android 2.3 (API level 9), however Android 3.0 added new functions (API level 11).

Features

Strict mode has 2 policies and each one of these has various rules.
Thread Policy

Thread regulations are focused on tasks that should not be done in the main thread, such as network and disc operations. The following are the breaches that are monitored by thread policy:

  • Disk Reads
  • Disk Writes
  • Network Access
  • Resource Mismatch
  • Custom Slow Code.

VM Policy

Memory leaks caused by inappropriate programming practices such as forgetting to close the SQLite cursor or leaks in activities are the focus of VM Policies. The following violations can be monitored by the VM Policy:

  • Activity Leaks
  • SQLite Objects Leaks
  • Closable Objects Leaks
  • Registration Objects Leaks
  • Class Instance Limit
  • File URL Exposure

The Android Profiler (Free)

The Android Profiler, which was introduced in Android 3.0, gives real-time data to monitor the CPU, network, and memory metrics of an app while it is running on a device or emulator. It’s a fantastic tool for discovering performance bottlenecks in apps, keeping track of memory usage, and making sure network bandwidth limits aren’t exceeded. Android Profiler can be accessed via the View-> Tool Windows -> Android Profiler menu item or any of the standard toolbar options for displaying Android Studio Tool windows.

Features

  • Use CPU Profiler to monitor CPU activity and traces.
  • Memory Profiler allows you to examine the Java heap and memory allocations.
  • Network Profiler is a tool for analyzing network traffic.
  • Energy Profiler allows you to track your energy usage.

Android Debugging Tools

Debugging and error removal in mobile apps can be automated with the use of Android debugging tools. These tools are often platform-specific and can be used to develop native or hybrid apps. Debugging tools are used by developers to check for bugs, crashes, interface malfunctions, and any other errors in the target apps’ operation. These Android tools can be purchased alone or as part of a package. Let’s have a look at some of the available debugging tools.

Stetho (Free)

Facebook developed Stetho, an android debugging tool or bridge. It’s a free open-source Android app development platform that gives developers access to Chrome development tools, a feature that’s native to the desktop browser. Stetho has a network inspection for previewing images, JSON response assistance, and HAR exporting of traces.

Features

  • ChromeDevTools
  • Network Inspection
  • Database Inspection
  • View Hierarchy
  • Dump app
  • JavaScript Console

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Android Debug Bridge(ADB) (Free)

Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a versatile command-line tool that helps you communicate with the device. The ADB command facilitates a variety of device actions, like installing and debugging, and it provides access to the UNIX shell that you can run on a variety of commands on the device. It is a client-server program that includes three components:

  • A client sends commands to your development computer and runs it. An ADB command can be used to start the client from the command line.
  • A daemon(adbd) On each device, it operates as a background process and is utilized to execute the command.
  • A server Controls the flow of information between the client and the daemon. On the development machine, it operates in the background.

Features

  • Enable ADB Device.
  • File Transfer.
  • Shell Commands Execution.
  • Application Management.
  • Capturing Screenshots.
  • Recording Videos.
  • Connecting Multiple Devices.

App Spector (Freemium)

App Spector is a mobile app debugging service. It allows you to remotely inspect your software, even if your development team is scattered. With a simple online interface, AppSpector allows you real-time access to your app’s internals. It tracks network traffic, database, app location, and performance indicators, going beyond ordinary log collectors. It contains all of the necessary Android development tools for introspection in one convenient location.

Features

  • Real-Time Access
  • History Replay
  • Remote Control
  • Performance
  • Core Data
  • Custom Events
  • Custom Commands

DebugDrawer (Free | GitHub: 1.2K)

DebugDrawer provides easy access to device data and settings, as well as the ability to simulate location and connection state. This Android debugging tool makes the testing process easier by allowing you to check information about your gadget rapidly. Adding additional modules to your project, enables you to customize the debug navigation drawer’s behavior.

Features

  • Device information
  • Build Information
  • Configure various settings
  • Configure Network

Android UI/UX Tools

Various aspects are taken into account when developing a new product. The first step is to confirm with the client the technical specifics and platform details. The next step is to integrate the project design with current digital trends so that it appears seamless and modern. Last but not least, they must stand out among the plethora of apps on the market. This could be accomplished through the use of a sleek and modern design. Let’s have a look at some of the UI/UX possibilities on the market.

Figma (Freemium)

Figma is a tool for creating user interfaces. In one spot, you can design and prototype your digital experience in real-time. It’s an Android UI development tool that works on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. It costs $12 per month for professionals and $45 per month for organizations, and you can test it out for free with an individual plan. It’s a one-of-a-kind browser-based application, so you won’t have to worry about out-of-date software or compatibility difficulties. 60fps interactive editing is available in Figma. It allows you to adjust the size of your design to fit any screen.

Features

  • Prototyping
  • Built-in commenting
  • Developer Handoff
  • Version Control
  • Live Sharing
  • MultiPlayer Collaboration
  • Team Libraries
  • Can be embedded in Dropbox

Sketch (Freemium)

The sketch is a simple and easy-to-use vector design tool that simplifies and streamlines UI design. It streamlines the UI/UX features included in Photoshop and Illustrator. To get more out of design, this Android design tool helps you to get rid of the bloated functionality and focus on user experience. The ability to install plugins is one of Sketch’s best features. However, while being one of the most useful tools for developing Android app user interfaces, Sketch’s support for real-time Android preview is ineffective. You can start with the 30-day free trial.

Features

  • Tool Set
  • Code Export
  • Libraries
  • Instant Preview
  • Vector Editing
  • Plug-ins

Adobe XD (Premium)

Adobe XD is a collaborative and powerful design tool created by Adobe. This graphic tool assists the user in creating a user interface that is clean, straightforward, and insightful. This Android app prototyping tool makes it simple for users to map numerous processes. Adobe XD was specially created for professionals working in the creative design & multimedia areas. This design tool provides variety of design methodologies, including prototyping and wireframing. People frequently use XD to create prototypes of Android and iOS apps, as well as simple websites that can be uploaded online for a variety of devices.

Features

  • 3D Transformation
  • Reuseable Design
  • Auto-Animate
  • Micro-Interactions
  • Content-Aware Layout
  • Repeat Grid

MockPlus (Freemium)

Mockplus is a cloud-based rapid prototyping tool for Android developers that can be used for building interactive prototypes & wireframes. It allows users to finish a screen design quickly with its pre-build components. It is a really simple tool requiring a low learning curve allowing users with limited experience to build prototypes effortlessly. It is available on an annual subscription.

Features

  • Design Prototype
  • Project and Task Management
  • Components and Icon
  • Real-Time Editing
  • Design Feedback and commenting
  • Real-time editing
  • Code Snippet generation
  • Design feedback and commenting

IconJar (Freemium)

IconJar is a modern macOS program from Davey Heuser and Curtis Hard that lets you manage any type of icon you can think of. You can use Iconjar for free for 14 days. It’s a library container that lets you drop any icon into it in any format. Iconjar enables you to rapidly organize them into Sets (groups) and Groups (folders). It allows you to keep all of your icons in one convenient location. Making it simple to access your icon. It has excellent drag-and-drop support for SVG files and icon fonts.


Feature

  • Optimized SVG
  • Drag-and-drop
  • Bulk export
  • Smart sets

Android Universal Image Loader (Free | GitHub: 16.8 K)

The Android Universal Image Loader is similar to Picasso and Glide in that it loads images from any web URL into an Android ImageView. This Image Loading Library was designed to give a robust, versatile, and configurable solution for loading images from the server in Android. It was made by an independent developer and is currently ranked number one on GitHub.

Features

  • Multi-thread Image Loading
  • Customized option for every display cell Image
  • Image caching in memory/disk
  • Customized ImageLoader Configuration
  • Listening loading process.

Android Testing Tools

Testing tools make it easier to test your applications. If you wish to take advantage of the latest frequent innovations, automate tests are a must-have. There are numerous testing tools on the market to assist you with your testing. These are some hand-picked Android testing tools, along with descriptions of their features and a link to download them.

Test Project (Free)

TestProject is the world’s first free cloud-based, community-powered test automation platform, allowing users to quickly and easily test Web, Android, and iOS applications across all operating systems. Using Selenium and Appium with this Android Testing Tool, you can easily cooperate with your team to assure quality and speed. Use TestProject’s sophisticated SDK to design programmed tests, create and use addons (automation actions shared by the entire community), or use advanced built-in recording features, all of this for free.

Features

  • Easy Configuration and Setups
  • No Coding Skills required
  • Share and Reuse Add-ons
  • Detailed Dashboards
  • Seamless Integration

Apptim (Freemium)

Apptim enables mobile developers, testers, and managers to quickly test and monitor client-side performance to avoid important issues from becoming live. You can track app render times, power consumption, resource usage, crashes, and more with this testing tool for Android.

Features

  • Android and iOS Compatibility
  • Native App Testing
  • Performance and Bug Report
  • Compare Two Test Sessions
  • JIRA Integration
  • Troubleshoot Apps

Perfecto (Freemium)

For mobile app testing, Perfecto is an industry-leading testing cloud. It provides open and integrated test solutions that can be customized to match any skill set or set of needs. Perfecto offers Scriptless or Coded Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) testing on the web or mobile devices, in the public or enterprise cloud. It also includes advanced mobile automation, robust reporting and test analysis tools, and a lab that is constantly updated with the latest devices and platforms. The free trial cloud of Perfecto does not support working with app stores.

Features

  • Supreme Cross-Platform Coverage For Testing ScenariOS
  • Smart Analytics
  • Unified Cloud Platform
  • Robust Integration
  • Enterprise-Grade Security And Scalability.
  • Deep Technical Support.

Appium (Free | GitHub: 13.9K)

Appium is an open-source cross-platform testing tool for android (2.3 onwards) and native and hybrid iOS. It works as a server in the background like a selenium server. It supports many languages like Java, Ruby, and C# along with other WebDriver libraries.  Appium utilizes WebDriver for test running. Appium automates Android using the UI Automator library, which is part of Android SDK. It can control Chrome and Safari on mobile devices. It can also be synchronized with TestNG, providing an informative and detailed report.

Features

  • No need to modify and recompile the application.
  • Web-driver language compatible
  • Can use any testing-framework
  • Various Language Support
  • Can use JSON wire protocol
  • Can integrate with other tools with the help of JAVA.

Selendroid (Free | GitHub: 828)

Selendroid is a test automation framework for Android native, hybrid, and mobile web applications. It may be used on emulators and real devices, and it can also be used as a node in Selenium Grid to scale and parallelize testing. An iOS-driver is suggested for testing iOS applications.

Features

  • Full compatibility with JSON Wire Protocol.
  • No modification of app under test
  • Support Gesture
  • Can interact with multiple Android devices (EMulators and Hardware devices).
  • Supports Hot Plugin of Hardware.
  • Multiple API support
  • Built-in inspector tool for creating test-case.

Android Game Development Tools

Android game development is a rapidly expanding Android app category that is sweeping the globe.

As of the first quarter of 2021, gaming apps were the most popular app category in the Google Play store, accounting for 13.72 % of available apps worldwide-Statista

The overall mobile gaming industry is rising in popularity and demand, which is putting more and more pressure on the Android game developers to constantly up their skillset and app offerings in terms of graphics, vfx, and conceptualizing new game ideas. To match this unprecedented rise in gaming app popularity, new Android game development tools are emerging to help Android developers with creating next-gen, efficient games. Let us have a look at these promising Android development tools for gaming –

Android Game Development Kit (AGDK) (Free)

Android Game Development Kit (AGDK) is a full range of Android mobile app development tools and libraries to help you develop, optimize, launch, and iterate on high-quality Android games. It brings together new and existing libraries, tools, and functionalities.

Features

The initial release focuses on three major key tenets

  • Code Built For Game Development
  • Reduce Fragmentation
  • Built By Android, For Android
  • Integrated Workflows
  • C/C++ Game Libraries
  • Performance Optimization

Unity 3D (Freemium)

Unity (game engine) android development tool was launched by Unity Technologies. This platform helps you to create games using amazing 2D and 3D development features and work together with your team. It allows you to import assets from 3D applications. It provides guides and tutorials for beginners.

Features

  • Creating And Destroying Game Objects
  • Component Accessibility
  • Event For Game Object
  • Dealing With Vector Variables
  • Working With Time Variables
  • Physics Oriented Event
  • Coroutine And Return Types
  • Visual Scripting (Preview)
  • Kinematic (Preview)

Gamemaker: Studio (Freemium)

Yoyo games have launched a platform for 2D games: Gamemaker: Studio.  It is one of the most popular Android game development tools for creating 2D games using very little code. It’s an extremely user-friendly application.  Their drag and drop feature along with its easy learn gives you the chance to create your design in a short amount of time.

Features

  • Backward compatible
  • Supports Multiplatform
  • Drag and Drop
  • Room Editor
  • Inheritance
  • Image Editor
  • TileSets
  • Physics
  • Skinning
  • Docking
  • Object Editor
  • Script Editor

Unreal Engine (Free)

Unreal Engine is a comprehensive toolkit for anyone working with real-time technology. It allows artists to control and deliver cutting-edge entertainment, graphics, and virtual worlds with more freedom. The best part is that because of its user-friendly features, you don’t need any programming knowledge. It enables you to alter and adjust the game without having to program or update the code. It is more user-friendly due to the convenience of working with the UI and the ability to test your game within the platform.

Features

  • Pipeline Integration
  • Worldbuilding
  • Animation
  • rendeing and lighting
  • Simulations and Effects
  • Interactive authority
  • Developer tools
  • Platform Support

Solar 2D (Free | GitHub: 1.5K)

Solar 2D, formerly known as “Corona SDK: The 2D Game Engine,” is a cross-platform game engine that employs the Lua scripting language and focuses on ease of use and iteration. You may use its 2D features, and the Corona market has a lot of plugins. It stands out for its excellent documentation, as well as a welcoming and active community. It also has real-time simulation, which will aid in the monitoring of the app following adjustments.

Features

  • Cross-platform
  • Plugin support
  • Native library support
  • Lua-based
  • Completely free
  • Open-source
  • Active community

Buildbox  (Freemium)

Buildbox is the world’s first software that lets anyone, regardless of technical skill, create incredible games. With this Android gaming app development platform, crafting interactive games becomes a seamless process because of its unique user-interface, which doesn’t require any scripting, programming, or software design skills. You can build your 3D and 2D games in a really short time. It allows you to make changes in real-time and monitor them.

Features

  • Export to mobile & Desktop
  • Customizable Splash Screen
  • Object and character support
  • Effects
  • Timeline Editor
  • Parallax Effect

Android Emulator Tools

There are several Android emulator platforms available nowadays if you want to run Android on your PC. There are a variety of reasons why developers use Android emulators on PC, including the ability to debug apps, the ability to play Android games on a larger screen, and so on. One of the major advantages of using Android emulators is that it will reduce the hardware limitations of low config Android device. The following is a list of Android emulators that will work for the majority of users.

Bluestack (Free)

Bluestack is  considered to be the most comprehensive Android app player available in the market. Apart from being compatible with both Windows and Mac, this Android tool is jam-packed with features to enhance the gaming experience. The Keymapping Tool, which allows you to create customized control schemes, the Instance Manager, which allows you to create multiple instances of the emulator and run multiple games at the same time, and quality-of-life features like Eco Mode, which helps to reduce resource consumption while running the most demanding games, are among its most popular features. BlueStack 5, the most recent version, is the lightest and quickest emulator ever. Even on low-end devices, it delivers high-performance gaming. The most recent version addresses some of the most prevalent concerns from the previous version, such as the bloated feeling when utilized on low-end hardware.

Features

  • Multi-Instance
  • Macros
  • Eco Mode
  • Real-Time Translation
  • Smart Controls
  • Rerolling
  • Script

Android Studio Emulator (Free)

The default terminal IDE for Android is Android Studio Emulator. It comes with a set of tools to assist developers in creating apps and games, particularly for Android. You can use this built-in Android emulator tool to test your application or game. Although the setup is difficult, it is the most feature-rich choice available. You may add custom launchers and keyboards, as well as imitate any device size or shape.

Features

  • Simulate Calls
  • Simulate Text messages
  • Specify the location of the device
  • Simulate different network speed
  • Simulate hardware sensors
  • Access google play store

GenyMotion ( Premium)

GenyMotion allows you to test your apps on a range of devices without having to purchase any of them. To fit your needs, you can set up this Android emulator tool for a range of devices running different versions of Android. For example, you can run Android 4.2 on a Nexus One and Android 6.0 on a Nexus 6. You have complete control over switching between virtual devices. Although Genymotion’s services are not ideal for consumer use, they are available for free for personal use. Its most beneficial feature is that it can be used on both your desktop and in the cloud. Those without powerful PCs can rely on Genymotion’s servers to perform all of their tasks.

Features

  • Compatibility
  • Performance
  • Scalability
  • Android Studio Support
  • Supports macOS and LINUX
  • Supports Android version 4.1 to 8.0

NOX (Free)

Nox is another Android emulator tool for PC gamers. It includes key mapping from the keyboard, actual controller support, and the ability to key-map gesture control. For instance, you can assign the function to swipe right to an arrow key and use that in a game without actual hardware controller support. It’s a lot of fun and seems to work rather well most of the time. It’s also entirely free and in active development, a boon in this space.

Features

  • Root Access
  • Customized Setting
  • High Performance
  • Extreme Compatibility

Android Analytics Tools

It can be difficult to choose the ideal Android analytics tool. There are several merchants at the market, and more are introduced daily. The Android app market is extremely crowded. Android app analytics solutions are necessary to maintain a competitive advantage. They give you insight into the user’s behaviour, reveal flaws, and allow you to provide the greatest user experience possible. The following is a list of the best analytics tools for Android in the market.

Firebase Analytics (Freemium)

Google firebase analytics is an analytics solution. It integrates with Firebase features and provides you with an unlimited report for up to 500 distinct events that you can define using Firebase ADK. The reports help you understand clearly how users behave, active users, retention reports, event counts, and much more.

Features

  • Incredible Built-in Analytics
  • Unlimited Reporting
  • Audience Segmentation
  • Integration with other services.
  • App Development Mode Easy
  • Crash reporting
  • Real-tine database storage
  • Cloud Functions
  • Cloud Messaging
  • Prediction
  • Remote Config
  • Adwords
  • Admob

MixPanel (Freemium)

Mixpanel is the best Android analytical tool that lets you examine how users interact with your product. It is intended to increase team efficiency by allowing everyone to review data in real-time to identify trends, comprehend behaviour, and much more. Mixpanel makes use of both online and mobile analytics. Real-time data, funnel analysis, and in-depth retention analysis is the tool’s strong points. Measuring what your app’s customers do is an important component of the product development process.

Features

  • Autotrack
  • A/B Testing
  • Real-time data
  • Funnel Analysis
  • Engagement tracking
  • Supports Mobile and Web

Flurry (Free)

Users can utilize Flurry analytics to examine client behaviour based on data observations. User segmentation, Consumer funnels, and app portfolio analysis are all elements of the platform. Flurry’s biggest advantage is that it’s completely free, so it won’t break the bank if you’re on a tight budget. It also allows you to run numerous apps at once.

Features

  • Events
  • Funnels
  • Segments and Cohorts
  • Support multiple apps
  • Demographic Information
  • User Acquisition Analytics

Countly ( Freemium)

Countly is an Android product analysis tool and innovation enabler that helps organizations track product performance and user journey and behaviour across mobile, web, and desktop applications. It ensures privacy by design, it allows organizations to innovate and enhance their products to provide personalized and customized customer experiences, and meet key business and revenue goals

Features

  • Opensource application
  • Supports Plugin
  • On-prem or private cloud
  • Custom events
  • Retention and Funnels
  • Revenue Analytics

Android Payment Tools

Businesses are looking for quick ways to make and receive payments as the demand for quick and effective money transfer methods grows. Paying for things online has never been easier or safer than using mobile payments. People require a convenient method of making payments that is both simple and time-saving. Various businesses have gone online with their products, making it a straightforward and time-saving method of payment.

Venmo (Free)

Venmo is a social payments service used for mobile purchases with supported Android and iOS platform. Customers can share their payments with friends and family and select approved businesses by using money in Venmo account, bank account, or their debit cards linked. There is never a fee for transferring money from Venmo using Venmo balance and debit cards, bank accounts, or prepaid cards, but there is a 3% fee on using credit cards. Online purchase or in other apps is always free.

Features

  • Compatible credit/debit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover.
  • Fund Transfer Speed: 1 to 3 business days.
  • Supported platforms: Android, iPhone/iPad, Mac.
  • Both the sender & receiver have to live in the U.S

PayPal One Touch (Premium)

PayPal is one of the most well-known money-transfer services, and it also has mobile options. Customers may check out practically anywhere that takes PayPal by skipping the login and billing information and using PayPal one click. PayPal is a well-known brand that many customers and merchants trust. It has a strong anti-fraud feature. Depending on the bank and transfer method utilized, some financial transfers are quick, while others might take up to five days.

Features

  • Compatible credit/debit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover.
  • Fund Transfer Speed: 30 minutes
  • Supported Devices: Android, iPhone/iPad.

Intuit GoPayment (Freemium)

Intuit Go Payment is now QuickBooks GoPayment, a mobile point-of-sale tool that enables businesses to accept payments for goods and services while on the go. The card reader plug-in works with iOS and Android devices, and the sales interface with QuickBooks online makes it simple to track cash and spending. The card reader’s Bluetooth capabilities enable company owners to accept magnetic strip and EVM chip cards, as well as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. Customers can pick between a free plan with transaction costs starting at 2.4 percent + $25 or a fee-based plan with a $20 monthly fee and starting prices as low as 1.6 percent + $.25 and PCI service. It also enables loyalty/gift card storage and reward points to encourage repeat purchases.

Features

  • Compatible credit/debit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover.
  • Fund Transfer Speed: 2 to 3 business days
  • Supported Devices: Android, iPhone/iPad, Mac.

Authorized.net ( Premium)

Authorized.net offers payment solutions for businesses that sell in shops, online, or through a mobile device to make it easy to accept all types of payments, including EVM chip cards and digital payments. It allows businesses to use Visa Click to Pay for single sign-on and easy checkout, Apple Pay for Safari users to make purchases with a touch of a button, and PayPal Express Checkout and eCheck processing. Businesses based in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and Australia can accept international payments from anywhere around the world. It also supports fraud prevention, customer information manager, recurring payments, invoices, and simple checkout.

Features

  • Compatible credit/debit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB.
  • Fund Transfer Speed: 2 business days
  • Supported Devices: Android, iPhone/iPad, Mac.

Android Security Tools

One of the most underappreciated parts of android programming is security. A lot of work is spent creating and designing android apps, but very little time is spent on the security element. Various programs store critical information yet lack even the most basic levels of protection. Many popular apps in the Google Play Store are known to contain major flaws and vulnerabilities that any motivated hacker with decent skills may simply exploit in a matter of minutes. Here are a handful of the greatest Android development tools to check security alternatives on the market.

OWASP Zed Proxy (Free)

The Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is designed to be simple to operate. Previously, it was primarily used to detect vulnerabilities in web applications, but it is now widely utilized by all testers for mobile application security testing. ZAP allows users to send fraudulent messages, making it easier for testers to assess the security of mobile apps. This form of testing can be carried out by delivering any request or file through a malicious message and determining whether or not the mobile app is vulnerable to it.

Features

  • Most Popular Open-Source Android Security Testing Tool.
  • ZAP is actively maintained by volunteers
  • Easy to Install
  • It is an international community-based tool.
  • Great for manual security testing

QARK (Free | GitHub: 2.5K)

LinkedIn developed QARK, which stands for “Quick Android Review Kit.” The name implies that it is useful for the Android platform in detecting security flaws in the source code and APK of mobile apps. QARK is a static android code quality tool that offers information about android app security vulnerabilities and a clear and short description of issues. QARK generates ADB (Android Debug Bridge) commands which will help to validate the vulnerability that QARK detects.

Features

  • Open-source tool
  • In-depth information about a security vulnerability
  • Report Generating
  • Report Potential Vulnerability and Fix
  • Highlight version related issues
  • Misconfiguration and security threat scan

Devknox (Free)

Devknox is the first mobile app security solution of its sort. This amazing Android development tool allows developers to detect and fix security issues in their code while creating it in Android Studio. While it tests for basic security vulnerabilities in the application, it also provides developers with real-time recommendations for quickly resolving these concerns. For security reasons, we can compare it to autocorrect. It also looks after your security needs, bringing you up to date on international security standards.

Features

  • Real-time testing
  • Interactive Dashboard
  • Integrated Across-Platform
  • Detailed Report
  • Vulnerability Tracking

MOBSF (Free | GitHub: 9.4K)

Mobile Security Framework is an automated, open-source, all-in-one mobile application (Android/iOS/Windows) pen-testing framework. It is capable of performing static, dynamic, and malware analysis. It is recommended by OWASP MSTG for static analysis. With this Android development tool developers can conduct effective and fast security analysis of Android, iOS, Windows mobile applications. It supports both binary (APK, IPA, APPX) format and zip source code. It can do dynamic application testing at runtime for Android apps and has Web API fuzzing capabilities powered by Cap Fuzz, a Web API scanner.

Features

  • Makes Pipe integrationseamless
  • Supports Static Analysis
  • Supports Dynamic Analysis
  • Supports all platforms
  • Supports both Binary and Zip source code.
  • Supports Web Services.
  • Supports API

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Wrapping Up

Android development is advancing at a remarkable rate. There are hundreds of different Android programming tools available. But, in the end, the decision comes down to the developer’s own preference and the product’s requirements. When it comes to developing certain applications, each developer has their own preferences. The pool of platforms for the solution that helps developers save time and generate high-quality apps will continue to grow as the demand for Android grows. Hope that this comprehensive list of Android development tools will assist you in determining which tool is most suited to your needs.

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    Saurabh Barot

    Saurabh Barot, the CTO of Aglowid IT Solutions, leads a team of 50+ IT experts across various domains. He excels in web, mobile, IoT, AI/ML, and emerging tech. Saurabh's technical prowess is underscored by his contributions to Agile, Scrum, and Sprint-based milestones. His guidance as a CTO ensures remote teams achieve project success with precision and technical excellence.

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