How to start Android development from scratch (practical guide)

Android runs on most of the world's phones, which makes it a great place to start building apps. You don't need prior experience: you need a plan and consistency.

What you need before starting

• A computer with 8 GB of RAM or more (Windows, macOS or Linux).
• Android Studio, Google's free official editor. It includes an emulator so you can test apps without a phone.
• About 10 hours a week. A little every day beats 8 hours on a Sunday.

The language: Kotlin

Kotlin is Google's recommended language for Android. It's modern, shorter than Java and prevents many common bugs, like the famous NullPointerException.

Start with the basics: variables, conditionals, loops, functions, lists and classes. Practice with small exercises before touching screens.

The screens: Jetpack Compose

Android interfaces are now built with Jetpack Compose: you describe the screen with Kotlin functions and Compose draws it. Learn in this order:

1. Text, Button, Image and arranging them with Column, Row and Box.
2. State: making the screen change when the user taps something.
3. Lists with LazyColumn.
4. Navigation between screens.

A 6-week plan

Week	Topic	Result
1	Kotlin and Git	Solved exercises and your first repository
2	Compose basics	A screen with a list
3	State, ViewModel and navigation	A two-screen app
4	Networking with Retrofit and coroutines	An app that calls an API
5	Room and Hilt	Data saved on the phone
6	Final project	A portfolio app

Common beginner mistakes

• Jumping into long tutorials without practicing. Write code every day, even a little.
• Copying without understanding. If you copy something, rewrite it later without looking.
• Skipping Git. Push your projects to GitHub from day one: it's your portfolio.

Next step

Codea's free Android Developer Jr route follows exactly this plan, with free videos, challenges, quizzes and teacher reviews. Route content is in Spanish.