Apple's Swift Working to Support Android App Development

by

Apple's Swift programming language is now being officially extended to support Android app development through the establishment of a dedicated Android Working Group within the Swift open-source project.

2025 Swift Student Challenge
Originally introduced by Apple in 2014 as a modern programming language for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, Swift has since expanded to include official support for Linux and Windows. The Swift project this week announced a formal effort to support Android as a target platform, enabling developers to use Swift to build applications for Google's mobile operating system using official tooling and infrastructure.

According to the Swift forums, the Android Working Group's charter outlines a clear set of responsibilities aimed at integrating Android into Swift's officially supported platform ecosystem. These include ensuring Swift can be compiled and run on Android without relying on unofficial forks or downstream modifications, enhancing Swift's standard libraries for better compatibility with Android APIs, and introducing native tools and workflows for developers targeting Android using Swift.

Historically, developing Android applications using Swift has been possible only through third-party solutions such as the Scade framework or via custom toolchains created by individual developers. These approaches often required a significant amount of custom configuration, lacked full support for Android APIs, and introduced maintenance burdens due to compatibility issues with new Swift releases.

One of the primary initial goals is to improve support for Android in the official Swift distribution, removing the need for out-of-tree patches or community-maintained forks, including establishing proper toolchain integration for Android targets and obtaining consistency with other officially supported platforms. The working group also plans to recommend enhancements to core Swift libraries, such as Foundation and Dispatch, so they better align with Android platform conventions and behaviors.

Android app development is currently dominated by Kotlin, which was announced as Google's preferred language for Android in 2017.

Tags: Android, Swift

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
Read Full Article • 56 comments
xiaomi apple ad india

Apple and Samsung Push Back Against Xiaomi's Bold India Ads

Friday August 29, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple and Samsung have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India for an ad campaign that directly compares the rivals' devices to Xiaomi's products. The two companies have threatened the Chinese vendor with legal action, calling the ads "disparaging." Ads have appeared in local print media and on social media that take pot shots at the competitors' premium offerings. One...
Read Full Article • 206 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Iridescent Feature 2

iPhone 17 Pro Clear Case Leak Reveals Three Key Changes

Sunday August 31, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface. The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas. Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
Read Full Article • 71 comments
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 17's 'Awe Dropping' Accessories

Friday August 29, 2025 8:12 am PDT by
Following the announcement of Apple's upcoming "Awe dropping" event, on this week's episode of The MacRumors Show we talk through all of the new accessories rumored to debut alongside the iPhone 17 lineup. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos We take a closer look at Apple's invite for "Awe dropping;" the design could hint at the iPhone 17's new thermal system with ...
Read Full Article • 20 comments

Top Rated Comments

maszaikasza Avatar
maszaikasza
9 weeks ago

For those who live in these environments, what’s in it for Apple?

Is there a goal to make apps more platform independent like Java?
I really am asking because this isn’t an area I know much about.
Using a single codebase to build apps for both platforms (cross-platform development) is getting more and more popular because it can significantly reduce development costs (which are getting high AF these days). Google offers its own technologies, such as Flutter and Kotlin Multiplatform, but they are not ideal - using them likely results in better apps for Android than for iOS. I believe Apple simply wants to maintain its own tools to encourage developers to use solutions that ensure higher-quality software for the iOS platform, since developers choose one technology to build for both platforms anyway.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrono1081 Avatar
chrono1081
9 weeks ago

Just. Use. React. Native.
Hell no. React is trash. Utter trash.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IceCool Avatar
IceCool
9 weeks ago
I’ve spent the last week or so working on a new app for iPhone and iPad that would also be super helpful if it were on Android too. This would make the process so much easier.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wrylachlan2 Avatar
Wrylachlan2
9 weeks ago
This is about sharing model code, not UI code. They’re bringing the open source Swift language to Android, not the proprietary SwiftUI API.

Apple’s thinking here is probably, cross-platform apps are a fact of life and by and large the coding of those cross platform apps sucks - they’re energy hogs and they shared UI is ugly. They detract from the Apple ecosystem. So if Apple can get some of those cross platform apps to share a common efficient code base for their models and then use platform specific UI frameworks on top, that’s a net win for the Apple ecosystem.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
Spock
9 weeks ago

I wonder why.
Bootcamp for iPhone. ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Will Co Avatar
Will Co
9 weeks ago

For those who live in these environments, what’s in it for Apple?

Is there a goal to make apps more platform independent like Java?
I really am asking because this isn’t an area I know much about.
A development platform called Xamarin emerged about 15 years ago which eventually grew interesting enough for Microsoft to purchase it. It's now been renamed MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) and allows developers to target iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac users interfaces with a single code-base. By and large I've followed it all the way and it's very good to excellent, in places. There's a school of thought that says if you own the development toolchain you own the developers. Not so sure about that, but I think Microsoft believes this. They must do: they've invested hugely in Visual Studio which provides the MAUI workflow, and it's available for free (in a community version) so they REALLY do want those devs.

I guess Apple feels the same way. Offer an alternative to developers targeting both major mobile platforms by bringing their previously Apple-only toolchain to other platforms. I think it's a smart move.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments