Top 20 Android App Development Interview Questions

Current scenario

Using a mobile has become as important as breathing. People all over the world are addicted to their mobile screens, right from the morning alarm to the late night Netflix binge watching, mobile has become our go to for everything.

The operating system has developed a lot in the last 15 years starting from black and white phones to recent smartphones or minicomputers.

According to Statistics, over 478 million people are using Mobiles across India.

Imagine!!

This is only about India, talking about the people using mobile phones across the globe, the numbers are huge.

Now there is a common question which all of us have in our minds, which is

Out of the total 2.32 billion smartphone users, 2 billion people are Android mobile users.

Considering the facts, the job of an android developer has become very important.

In this blog post we will talking about the top android app development interview questions which will help you ace the interview.

Today, many people prefer using android mobile phones for multiple activities like gaming, music, social media and networking and much more.

Some of the live examples would be, pubg mobile, netflix, whatsapp and the list can go on and on.

What is android development?

Android applications have penetrated through the global market because of their high-quality designs and app’s performance.

Android is open source, and consequently, it has an enormous formulator community which keeps on collaborating with each other and gives facts about the approaching new versions of Android other than explaining formulator’s issues faced during the Android App Development Company operation.

Android operating systems have the highest number of users.

Android developers, who build these Android Applications which have made our lives so easy, need to have a deep understanding about the different programming languages, like — Java, Python and C++ and many more.

Some of you reading this blog might even know these languages and will be able to relate!!

Scope of Android App Development

In the present times where mobile devices have become extremely important for each and every one of us.

This digital age has definitely changed the importance of mobile phones in our lives.

Out of the total population 2.5 billion people are Android users, therefore the scope of android development has become so vast that the bar graph is only destined to go up from here.

Right after the launch of Jio the number of smartphone users in India have also increased drastically.

Hence, the scope of Android Development has also increased and will keep on increasing in the coming times.

Big companies like- Samsung, Vivo, One Plus and many others launch new mobile updates every year which has furthermore increased the demands of Android mobile phones.

Also Read: Which Is The Best Operating System?? IOS Vs Android Vs Windows

The scope of Android is wide, as along with being used in mobile devices it is also used in other fields.

The fields which are dependant on the android applications are

1. Banks

Since the Prime Minister of the country, Narendra Modi has made an announcement about digital India, all the transactions are taking place online which has increased the online banking transactions by leaps and bounds.

Paytm, Phone pe and many more have become very popular.

2. Education

The education sector without any questions has seen a drastic overnight shift to online platforms, right after the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apps like Udemy, Byju’s have made it really easy for the students to keep a record of their homework and other study material.

3. Gaming

The demand of the gaming sector is booming like never before, with new and different games being released every other day.

According to a report, in the present times the gaming sector in India is giving the biggest ROI.

4. E-Commerce

E-commerce has been the only way people have survived the lockdown. Online delivery of almost anything and everything is possible online and it has made it very easy for the people.

E-commerce Apps like — Amazon and Flipkart give huge discounts on shopping from their apps.

The scope of Android development is not only limited to the four pointers mentioned above, but it is much more wide and diverse.

Prerequisite skills for Android App Development

Skills are required in any field you may want to enter.

Your skills and experience are the two most important factors which will be accountable to getting you a good job opportunity.

Before knowing what are the essential skills required for being an android developer it is important to understand the responsibilities of an android developer.

Some out of the many responsibilities of a android developer are listed below

1. Building the application and its functionality

This is the basic and main task of the android developer, to build the application. To create the design and build the app and its functionalities.

2. Collaborating with the other team members

It is important for all the software developers to build and maintain effectively amongst the team members, since every member in the team has a specific role to play to reach the final output of the application.

3. Handling the databases and APIs

Having prior knowledge in handling data, and integrating two applications with one another are some of the skills which an android developer should possess.

4. Performing the Unit Test

Unit testing also known as module testing is very important. The module testing should be done for the application throughout the development process, so ensure the smooth functioning of the application.

5. Fixing Bugs

As an engineer the primary responsibility of the engineer is to fix and find the bugs found in the other teams and also find at least one portion of the bugs in the code.

6. Staying up to date with the latest trends and technologies

Being a software engineer you need to master new skills and gain fresh and latest knowledge all the time. In the current times technology is advancing and evolving at a rapid pace and being a software engineer it is your responsibility to stay up to date.

Must Read: Flutter For App Development: Why Is It So Popular

Popular android development interview questions

Given below is a list of the commonly asked Interview Questions on Android Application Development.

Question 1: What is android?

Answer:

It is an open-sourced operating system that is used primarily on mobile devices, such as cell phones and tablets. It is a Linux kernel-based system that has been equipped with rich components that allows developers to create and run apps that can perform both basic and advanced functions.

Question 2: What are the advantages of using Android Operating Systems?

Answer:

Some of the advantages of using Android Operating Systems over others are as follows:

1. Open Source — no development licence or deployment fees
2. Platform independent — supports windows, mac and Linux.
3. Supports various technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.
4. Reusable — Android components are reusable and even replaced by the framework.

Question 3: Explain the Architecture of Android?

Answer:

It consists of following components:-

• Linux Kernel as the core for power and memory management
• Native Libraries built on top of kernel to provide specific functionalities, e.g. — OpenGL, SQLite.
• Android Runtime holds core Libraries like DVM (Dalvik Virtual Machine — VM optimized for mobile)
• Android Framework includes APIs such as UI
• Applications like home, games etc are the final layer

Question 4: What is Google Android SDK?

Answer:

The Google Android SDK is a toolset that developers need to write apps on Android enabled devices. It contains a graphical interface that emulates an Android driven handheld environment. This emulator acts like an actual mobile device on which the developers write their code and then debug/test the same code to check if anything is wrong.

Question 5: What are Intents and Activities?

Answer:

Intents — Android has an Intent class when the user must navigate from one activity to another. Intent displays notifications from the device to the user and then the user can respond to the notification if required.

Activities — referred to as a window to the user interface. It helps in the display of output or could even ask for inputs so that the dialog boxes and other roles can be performed to create a user interface.

Question 6: What other languages support android development?

Answer:

Java is the widely used language for Android development. It also supports C and C++ when used with Android SDK.

Question 7: What is Android Runtime?

Answer:

Android Runtime (ART) is an application used by the Android OS as a runtime environment. It has now replaced Dalvik, a discontinued Virtual Machine (VM). ART translates the bytecode of the application into native instructions, which are carried out by the device’s runtime environment.

Question 8: What are some disadvantages of Android?

Answer:

Given that Android is an open-source platform, and the fact that different Android operating systems have been released on different mobile devices, there is no clear-cut policy to how applications can adapt with various OS versions and upgrades.

One app that runs on this version of Android OS may or may not run on another version.

Another disadvantage is that since mobile devices such as phones and tabs come in different sizes and forms, it poses a challenge for developers to create apps that can adjust correctly to the right screen size and other varying features and specs.

Question 9: What is AIDL?

Answer:

AIDL, or Android Interface Definition Language, handles the interface requirements between a client and a service so both can communicate at the same level through inter-process communication or IPC.

This process involves breaking down objects into primitives that Android can understand. This part is required simply because a process cannot access the memory of the other process.

Must Read: The Ultimate Game Development Guide (Beginner-Friendly)

Question 10: What is ADB?

Answer:

Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a command-line tool that performs shell commands. ADB is used for direct communication between the emulator ports. It gives direct control of the communication between the emulator instances to the developer.

Question 11: Tell me how would you explain object-oriented programming to a person who didn’t have a technical background?

Answer:

This question is very important as it will tell the interviewer how flexible you are.

The simple answer to this question would be that while explaining something technical to a person from some other background you will break the technical terms into simple language. This way you can explain a complicated concept of engineering in simple terms to anyone.

Question 12: What APIs do you have experience with that will apply to the programming you will do in this role?

Answer:

This is an operational question, which will give the interviewer an insight into how much you know about the job.

API’s are a critical part of any application, they help the application integrate themselves into any other programs.

Question 13: What are the resources you use when researching a solution to a complex programming issue?

Answer:

In case of facing any complex issue while programming, the first thing will be to research about the error and the coding without proceeding further. The valuable inputs of the other team members will also matter.

Question 14: Can you discuss the agile methodology of software development and talk about its advantages and disadvantages?

Answer:

The name agile itself suggests what agile methodology would mean. Agile methodology is the way of managing a project with a collaborative, iterative and incremental approach.

It is designed with the idea of achieving both the starting objective of the project and the end result of the project.

Below are some advantages and disadvantages of the agile methodology-

advantages

1. Improved quality
2. Speed and flexibility
3. Complete visibility of the progress of each project in real-time

disadvantages

1. Difficult to predict efforts
2. Difficult to measure progress
3. Difficult to implement

Question 15: How do you address security risks when developing an application for internal company use?

Answer:

The security features of any application are of utmost importance. Throughout the development process pay close attention to the security of the application.

Use strong encryption and make sure that the code is written securely. Also make sure that you run the application through several security tests to make sure that the steps taken are effective.

Question 16: What steps do you take to prevent an application from crashing?

Answer:

Once the application is created there is less chance that there will be any crash. It depends on how well you have developed the application.

This happens due to the development tools, testing software and the other methodologies developers use to build the application.

Even after testing the code, review it and run it through several tests to make sure that the coding is strong and the application is unlikely to crash.

Question 17: Can you discuss how you balance addressing client demands with developing complex application software?

Answer:

Any project is taken up with the motive to reach the end result and the desired outcome.

Make sure you are clear about the expectations of the client right before starting the development process. Also make sure you are giving regular updates about the work you are doing, so that he can monitor the progress and tell if any changes are required.

Question 18: How do you go about migrating an application from one hardware platform to another one with a different OS?

Answer:

Application portability across devices and operation systems is one of the key designs for building any application.

There are several ways of doing this like by creating an adaptable user interface and monitoring the upgrades so that you can update the application.

Question 19: Can you explain the critical differences between a web application and one designed for mobile devices?

Answer:

There are several critical differences between web applications and the ones designed for mobile devices. Web applications are written for specific browsers and web across a variety of different hardware platforms.

Mobile applications are device and OS-specific, so they must be written for a specific environment.

Question 20: If given the opportunity to work on a side project involving developing an application, what type of application would you choose to create, and why?

Answer:

Last but not the least, this question is a very general question which can be thrown at you towards the end of the interview.

Here the interviewer wants to know about your preferences and the type of programming you enjoy.

Think wisely about this answer, as this answer can be different for everyone. Your answer can reflect your personal choice but it should also align with the type of work the organisation does and the culture it follows.

These are some tips that can help you ace your android interview

1. Take a deep breath

Don’t panic or be scared, have full confidence in your abilities and your capabilities. It is important to give the interview with a light mood and by staying relaxed.

2. Review the job description

Be very careful while reading the job description as it will help you understand your role in the company. You should be well versed with what you are going to do in the company.

3. Research about the company

Make sure you have read well about the company. It is very important to know what the company does and what its vision and mission is. It is important to focus on the little things of the company as it is a big decision about your life which will impact your entire career.

4. Honesty is the best policy

Every interviewer will look for an employee who is loyal and honest in nature while hiring. They will want to know if the person joining the company is a good fit or not. Make sure you are being honest with your answers.

5. Practise the interview multiple times

It is very important for you to practise your interview in front of the mirror multiple times. Practise the way you will talk, your tone of voice and pronunciation. This way you will be confident about what you are saying in front of the interviewer.

6. Keep a check on your body language

Make sure you are showing the right body language during the interview. The interviewer is sure to notice your body language. Your body language will speak a lot about you.

These are just some tips to help you relax and be well prepared for your interview.

Make sure you are relaxed and just put your best foot forward.

This Android App Development job will surely be yours!!

All the best to the people out there preparing for the interview for the position of an Android App Developer.

CONCLUSION

Hope these questions will help you in preparing for your next android application development interview.

These are just the top 20 questions, but while preparing go through the entire study material nicely and thoroughly.

Make sure you have revised all the topics multiple times and are thorough with the basic concepts.

While going for the interview along with reading the study material make sure you are confident about yourself and are well prepared to put your best foot forward in the interview.

Also after reading this blog make sure you read more such blogs on different interview questions. This way you will already have an idea regarding the kind of questions that can be asked to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Android app development difficult?

There is a high complexity involved between developing an Android application and using that application. For users, it is very easy and for developers, it is a quite tough job.

Is Android development in demand in 2022?

According to a study, over 135 thousand new job opportunities in Android app development will be available by 2024. Since Android is on the rise and almost every industry in India uses Android apps, it is a great career choice for 2022.

Is mobile development harder than web?

Overall web development is comparatively easier than android development — however, it majorly depends on the project you build. For example, developing a web page using HTML and CSS can be considered an easier job in comparison with building a basic android application.

Who earns more Android Developer or Web Developer?

Payscale.com lists the average salary for a mobile application developer as $71,072 per year vs. $53,036 for a web developer.