Apple’s Swift Language Aims for Official Android Support

Apple’s Swift programming language is expanding its reach beyond its own platforms. The company has established an “Android Working Group” to make Android an officially supported platform for Swift development.
This initiative aims to improve and maintain official Android support for Swift, eliminating the need for third-party tools or patches. Key goals include enhancing core Swift packages like Foundation and Dispatch for Android compatibility.
The group will also define platform support levels and target specific Android API levels and architectures. Furthermore, it will develop continuous integration for Android testing and establish best practices for bridging Swift with Android’s Java SDK.
Debugging Swift applications on Android and assisting community packages are also priorities. While developers could technically use Swift for Android apps via tools like “Scade,” this move signifies a more integrated and official approach.
This comes years after initial reports of Google considering Swift for Android, with Kotlin having become the primary language since 2017.