Building My First Android App

So, I've finally done it - published my first Android app on the Play Store! It's called SpeakOut, and while it's not going to compete with Angry Birds or Instagram, it's taught me loads about the whole process of getting an app from idea to actual users' phones.

Why I Built SpeakOut

Look, every developer needs that first project to cut their teeth on. I wanted something:

Simple enough to actually finish
Useful enough to be worth publishing
Complex enough to learn from
Something I could test properly on real hardware

The Development Process

Setting Up

First off, got myself sorted with:

Eclipse (yeah, Android Studio's out now but Eclipse + ADT still works fine)
Android SDK (properly massive download)
My trusty Samsung Galaxy S3 for testing
Genymotion for virtual device testing

The Actual Code

public class MainActivity extends Activity {
    private TextToSpeech tts;
    private EditText inputText;
    private Button speakButton;
    
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        // ... rest of implementation
    }
}

Kept it proper simple:

Basic UI with EditText and Button
TextToSpeech for the main functionality
Error handling (learned this the hard way)
Proper cleanup in onDestroy()

Testing Was... Interesting

Found out pretty quick that emulators aren't enough:

Virtual Testing

Genymotion for different Android versions
Testing different screen sizes
Basic functionality checks

Real Hardware Testing

My Galaxy S3 (Android 4.3)
Mate's HTC One (Android 4.4)
Found some proper weird bugs that didn't show up in emulator
Text-to-speech engines behave different on different phones!

The Production Journey

Getting Ready for Play Store

Sorted out the manifest file:

<manifest android:versionCode="1"
          android:versionName="1.0">
    <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8"
              android:targetSdkVersion="19" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
</manifest>

Made a proper nice icon (harder than it sounds)
Took screenshots (tried about 20 times to get them right)
Wrote app description (rewrote it about 5 times)

Google Play Store Process

Right, this was proper interesting:

Needed a developer account (£25 - not too bad)
Had to sort out all the app details
Content rating questionnaire
Upload APK
Wait nervously

Things I Learned

Development

Start simple, seriously
Test on real phones as soon as possible
Don't ignore those lint warnings
Logging is your best mate
Back up your keystore file!

Publishing

Screenshots are proper important
Description needs proper keywords
Price (free - let's be honest)
Got to think about tablets too
Need to plan for updates

The Patch Process

Had to push out a couple of updates already:

Fixed a crash on some 2.3 devices
Sorted out some text-to-speech engine issues
Added better error messages

Learned that:

Can't just push updates whenever
Need to increment version numbers
Changes take ages to show up sometimes
Users actually update pretty quick

What's Next

Got a few ideas for improvements:

Better UI (it's pretty basic right now)
More language support
Save favourite phrases
Maybe add some widgets
Proper Material Design (when I figure it out)

Tips If You're Starting Out

Start Small
- Don't try building the next Facebook
- Get something working first
- You can always add features later
Test Properly
- Get as many real devices as you can
- Don't trust the emulator completely
- Ask mates to try it
Publishing
- Read the guidelines properly
- Sort your privacy policy
- Keep your keystore safe
- Don't rush the store listing

Wrapping Up

Look, it's not the fanciest app out there, but it works, it's on the Play Store, and most importantly - I learned loads doing it. If you're thinking about making an app, just get stuck in. Start small, test properly, and don't worry if it's not perfect.

Check it out if you fancy: SpeakOut on Play Store