this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2023
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Free and Open Source Software

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 10 months ago (4 children)

To make apps for Android you can take a 15 years old PC from the dumpster and a 5 years old smartphone that your cousin threw away and you're done. No other payment required.

To make apps for iOS you need to have a supported Mac and you need to have a supported iPhone. The OS upgrade treadmill means you need to buy a new one of both every 5-6 year (or used every 2-3 years). Finally, you need to pay a yearly $100 development subscription forever. (When you stop paying, your apps are unpublished)

Also: on Android you share the source and anyone can compile it even a decade after release. On iOS compiling old source is much more difficult as you probably need to change or fix to the updated apis

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Android studio in a 15 year old pc sounds PAINFUL.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Android studio on a modern computer is painful

Also on Android, Google decides what models of phones are able to use the Play Store. So unless you get into a third party store, or expect your users to side-load, that old smartphone might not be so useful.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago

The old smartphone is only used for testing, you can literally use whatever you want (with increasing limitations), if you really want you can use even an HTC dream with Android 2

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

Plus, you can't sideload on Apple

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yeah, subscription cost has led to apps that would be free on Android being paid on Apple or opting out of being available all together. Not just on iOS but MacOS too, and opting for being available outside the Mac store.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Android studio is a very heavy peace of garbage! you need modern hardware to get somewhere.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Can use an ancient version of eclipse if you really want.

The point btw is that there's isn't a marketing department that artificially decides that your computer is too old to run a specific application and you need to buy a new one

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I thought Android Studio (or more specifically, the Android SDK) is required for making Android apps?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

You aren't limited to that, android studio is just a customized specialized version of JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA, if someone has a lot of time and patience, can use another ide