October 28, 2016
Ever since Xcode 8 and the update to Sierra Android development has been a much more stable experience than iOS. Switching between Xcode 7 and 8, particularly the Simulator, has been painful. Android Studio’s method of allowing you to choose which build tools and SDKs you want to use is much more flexible and workable.
I’m doing more Android development at the moment. Most projects are 50:50, but I’ve just finished an Android port of an existing iOS app for a client. As such I’m currently using a Nexus 5X as my daily driver again. I like to swap every few weeks between iOS and Android so I start familiar with both as a user and not just as a developer.
I’m looking forward to be starting a new Xamarin based project soon. As much as possible is going to be done using Xamarin.Forms. I had a small debate as to why Ionic was the wrong choice, and not just because I wasn’t going to get involved in writing lots of JavaScript.
Finally I want to say how much I’ve been impressed by the support from BuddyBuild. I have had a few issues, all of which have been investigated and resolved. There are so many great CI solutions available to mobile developers now. For the Xamarin project I’m going to try out BitRise and see how that compares.