Kotlin Programming Language Will Surpass Java On Android Next Year

At Google I/O 2017, Google announced the newly added support for Kotlin programming language in Android, along with the existing languages Java and C++. As per the experts, Kotlin came as a breath of fresh air in Android development ecosystem to make “Android development faster and more fun. But, what about the numbers? How many developers are making a shift to Kotlin? Let’s find out.

Realm, a mobile development platform, has shared its latest edition of the quarterly report. This report offers useful insights of current mobile development ecosystem.

Will Kotlin surpass Java on Android?

In case you look at the major programming languages being used for mobile developments, you’ll find languages like Java, Swift, Objective-C, C#, JavaScript, and Kotlin. As you can see in the graph below, Swift is making strides at a faster pace and making Objective-C disappear. This wasn’t the case too long ago. Android is about to undergo a similar change.

Image: Realm.io

Since Google I/O 2017, Kotlin’s growth rate has entered into a new dimension. The percentage of developers learning and shifting to Kotlin is increasing as no one wants to be left behind.

In geographical terms, in Android ecosystem, Asia leads the pack. However, as the developers in Asian countries are more conservative in pursuing new technologies, this huge shift in Android development is expected to benefit the American developers in future.

The year of Kotlin: 2018

As per data, 20% of the apps built with Java before Google I/O are being built in Kotlin, which is a fast growth given the timeframe of 4-5 months.

“Kotlin may even change how Java is used on the server, too. In short, Android developers without Kotlin skills are at risk of being seen as dinosaurs very soon,” the report states. As per predictions, Kotlin will overtake Java in December 2018, which would be about 17 months after the official support announcement.

Why choose Kotlin? How to learn it?

As said above, Kotlin is expected to make Android development a faster process and make it fun. The language is interoperable with Java. A major benefit of Kotlin is the lesser number of lines of code. Its compiler can automatically infer types in variable declarations which can save time and improve productivity. You can read about major features of Kotlin in our dedicated “Why learn Kotlin” article.

There are tons of useful Kotlin courses available on the web. For instance, you can check out this cost-effective beginner course available on Udemy. Further, feel free to visit Fossbytes Academy and start learning with the help of following hand-picked Kotlin bundles at attractive discounts: