An app developer’s job can be very hard. There is a plethora of devices to test and many other factors that come into play. Google is aiming to make the process better, though. The Search Giant is said to be working on a dev toolkit that will allow Chrome apps developers to easily port their Chrome applications to Android and iOS.
Mobile support for Chrome apps is said to come as soon as January 2014, in beta. The toolkit would allow developers to create mobile apps by using Chrome app “polyfills”, through “Apache Cordova”. Of course, developers would still need to test them, optimize the UI for mobile, fix bugs and more.
Why does it matter?
It’s not a direct solution, but a very handy shortcut that should help all platforms get more support. This should entice Chrome developers to make more Android and iOS apps. At the same time, Android and iOS developers may consider going with this toolkit and kill three birds with one stone. If the application would be fitting, of course.
Compatibility
As soon as the apps are all tested and fixed for their respective mobile platforms, they are ready to be published in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. There are some limitations for now, though. Requirements suggest that only Android 4.0+ users will be supported at first. Cordova could support Android 2.2 and 2.3, but the details are yet to be seen.
As for iOS, we are still not sure what versions these apps could support. The GitHub repository where this toolkit was discovered only states “TBA” in the iOS support section.
Wrap up
With this, Google will be evolving the process of mobile app development. Of course, the company has declined to comment, but we all know how that works. We might hear more about it soon enough!
[The Next Web via Phandroid]
