r/androiddev

theres this new thing that just popped up, it seems confusing because Jetbrains is working on Amper that has the same goals except that Amper is a standalone build tool, what are your thoughts

Hey everyone,

I’m an Android-focused (Kotlin) React Native dev and I’m curious:

Are there indie devs here actually making a living from Google Play alone, without publishing on the Apple Store?

Would love to hear real experiences - whether Android-only is enough in practice this. I am for-life Android user myself and researching this area.

Thanks in advance!

I was looking to do this over the summer to learn kotlin and android app development. Has anyone who has done it recommend it as a good source to learn this.

Any other resources are also appreciated.

I really wanted to see how far I can go. Can I create a meaningful and complex application, big enough, but without knowing the language.

Yes, I have 18+ years of experience as software developer, using Java, GoLang, Scala. But I have no experience with Kotlin. And to learn Kotlin, to learn the Android libraries, it is not an easy job. I may need at least of year of active learning and trying things, before having the confidence to start something that will work.

So, I asked myself, how far can I go with AI tools? And I went far!

I created an application for monitoring elderly people. If they are not moving, if they are lost, if their daily habits are changing too much, someone will get notified. I won't post the link here to the app, because the post might get banned, even though I desperately search for a way to make it more publicly recognizable

The boring statistics:

• 126,000 lines of Kotlin across 398 files
• 45,000 lines of tests across 130 files
• 3000+ unit tests
• 3 languages (English, Bulgarian, German)
• 50+ production lessons captured in CRITICAL_DONTS.md
• 4 months from zero Kotlin experience to production app on Google Play
• 0 lines of Kotlin written manually by me

Below are the main things that I did and helped me do the product!

Good framework

Vibecoding something that big is not an option. You can't write anything in one session. Vibecoding works best for my daughter. If you need something big, you need a way to keep the context somewhere, to define the rules. You need specification. To maintain my specifications I use BMAD framework. It helped me a lot to clear the requirements, prepare the architecture, UI, find any gaps. I used it also a lot for brainstorming session and for marketing. For the latter, it failed 😉

Follow the project rules

I use Claude Code with Opus 4.6 (yes, I prefer the old version) and keep all my important rules save in CLAUDE.md file.

Every rule in that file exists because I violated it once and something broke. The file grows with the project.

This is the key insight: CLAUDE.md turns one-time lessons into permanent constraints. The AI never forgets a rule I put there. I forget constantly.

Keep your documentation up to date

I start my session with a custom command that loads all important lessons learned, release notes, rules, architecture. All needed, enough context, so that when I start prompting, the AI has the basis to make best decisions possible.

I end my session with custom command to save all new rules, lessons learned, release notes, and architectural updates. This way each subsequent session is built based on the gain knowledge from the previous. I have a history, I have an AI that gets smarter with each subsequent session.

Be as descriptive as possible

When you prompt, be as descriptive as possible. I use BMAD to create descriptive technical specifications out of my prompts. If the idea is not clear in my head, I do brainstorming session. All possible to minimize the guessing and wrong interpretations during the development phases.

Automate boring things

My app has to survive Android OEM battery killers (Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor, OPPO. They all try to kill applications that run 24/7 to save battery. And this is a never ending fight. New version add new restrictions. Undocumented behavior gets detected by fellow developers and shared in forums. If I need to monitor manually for anything that can break my app, this will be the only thing that I will have time to do... And this is boring!

That's why I created custom slash commands that do the analysis and the search for me. I run them weekly. Everything found I turn in to technical specifications (via BMAD ) and afterwards, to real implementation

Do you all do code reviews?

I do. Usually, with a different LLM. This gives a 'different point of view'. Improves greatly the code quality!

What this is not

• It is a no-code, but If you know the language, it is worth checking and correcting if needed. With time, the needed small fixes will become less. It is always good to understand the architecture and to make the design decisions yourself.
• It is not effortless. The workflow took months to build. The documentation is extensive.
• It is not magic. The AI makes mistakes. The difference is that mistakes are caught by the process (tests, reviews, rules, audits) instead of by users;

The takeaway

AI coding tools are not magic code generators. They are force multipliers for engineering process. If your process is "open chat, type prompt, hope for the best," you will be disappointed.

If your process is "document the architecture, define the rules, automate the lifecycle, capture every lesson, review everything critically", the AI becomes unreasonably effective.

The investment is not in better prompts. It is in better engineering.

The app is available in Google Play and I already have a few people using it. Quite happy with the results. And I will continue to extend it with additional functionalities, following the same approach I described above.

I have a specific question about Scoped Storage on modern Android.

I'm not talking about apps having full access to all folders on the phone like they did in the past.

My question is different:

Starting with Android 11, Google started pushing apps to store their files inside the Android/data folder, which users normally can't access anymore, right?

Today, can a developer still update their app and choose to save the app's own files in a user-accessible location (for example, inside Downloads, Documents, Music, or a custom folder with the app's name) instead of using Android/data?

Or could Android eventually force apps to use only Android/data?

And if Android still allows apps to use user-accessible folders today, does that mean this possibility is likely to always exist?

What I mean is: is this considered a basic part of Android's design, where apps are allowed to choose their own storage location instead of being forced to use only Android/data or another system-defined folder that users cannot access?

Or could Google eventually prevent this completely, at least for Play Store apps?

I'm asking because many Play Store apps — such as camera apps, download managers, audio/video editors, and similar apps — can still save files in normal user-accessible locations.

So does Google only allow these specific types of apps (and will probably always allow them) to choose accessible folders?

Or can any type of app — including games, social media apps, banking apps, note-taking apps, etc. — also choose to store their own files in user-accessible locations, and continue being allowed to do so in the future?

So what I really want to understand is:

Did Android only restrict broad storage access, or is Google actually moving toward a future where apps (like games, social media apps, banking apps, note-taking apps, and similar apps) could be completely prevented from choosing user-accessible folders for their own files?

As you all know that after android 11 google have made accessing the data and OBB files almost impossible, I'm experiencing this so tough as my current android version is 16 the Latest one , so does anyone have any kinda solution on how to workout this issue?

I have been keeping an eye on Android Developer latest releases, and seeing it feels amazing! Things like Remote Compose, Room support for KMP Web, Password less authentication, Email verification without OTP, and more coming to Android.

But the main traction always becomes the Android Studio Gemini AI, which is total trash, and of no use in actual Android coding! Every time when Android team comes, wherever like Google IO, YouTube, etc. they just stick to AI, AI, AI, and AI!!!

I mean they are working on really great stuff for the Android Ecosystem, but they still choose to hide that and just stick to Gemini AI!

What are your thoughts guys, have you tried or are excited to try out these upcoming features: Remote Compose, Room support for KMP Web, Password less authentication, Email verification without OTP!

I am new to android development and on my 1st momth of learning, but while using icons i have come across multiple ways, initially I imported the pkg, but then i came across a google article saying it was no longer recommended to do that and that it was better to download them and put them into res, but now i get build errors. I am so frustrated.