You must have heard of it – or perhaps having it in your hands right now! About 85% of the devices sold use Android as their OS.
Android is a popular mobile operating system developed by Google. Most of the popular phones like Samsung, Google Nexus, Sony Xperia are based on Android. Android is open-source i.e.; the OS can be customized by developers depending on the handset.
Android is based on Linux Kernel. Android programs are written in Java using ASDK (Android Software Development Kit) and run through the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) optimized for mobile.
If you are preparing for an android interview, check out the top android interview questions with detailed answers.
Android is one of the most widely used OS, and there are lots of applications that can be downloaded from the Google play store other than the built-in applications that come with the phone. Some features and benefits of Android are:
Android development is easy and quick, and you can learn through training courses, videos, tutorials, and of course, good books! Though some claim that you can learn it in a month, we suggest you take time to sink in the concepts step by step, apply what you read in a book or see in a tutorial to practice, and follow the android developer website for documentation, updates, and support. Basic knowledge of Java is required for learning Android.
We have selected the 10 best Android books that are updated for Android development in 2024. Let us see below.
This is a good book and reference guide for beginners, and even if you do have some experience, you will learn a lot of new stuff from this book. The book covers all essential concepts of Android from activity, threads, themes, views, fragments, network communication, etc. and not a single word of the book is extra. Every chapter, every paragraph opens up a world of new things for the reader.
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Rating: 4.6
Cost: Kindle: $24.10
Paperback: $23.75
This is the best book for android development and for beginners as well as next-level programmers. You should know Java before you get on to this book. If you already have some idea about Android programming, you might feel the book to be a bit slow and repetitive, but it will be a great refresher for all that you already know. The author's tone is funny and witty, with easy-to-understand explanations and code examples.
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Rating: 4.5
Cost : Kindle: $15.09
Paperback: $24.77
This is not a book where you will be spoon-fed with all the concepts. The author mentions a lot of terms and concepts and encourages you to read more about them through online content; for example, the android emulator and how you can run apps on it. That said, the author puts in a lot of effort to make learning Java and Android side by side with ease. If you already know Java, you can skip the introduction to Java as you might feel it to be very lengthy.
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Rating: 4.5
Cost : Kindle: $18.39
Paperback: $19.99
A neat and well-structured book, Android for dummies, will certainly take your interest in Android to a much higher level. It is a beginner's book, which takes you through all the core concepts. The author explains what is needed for you to know as a beginner developer, and doesn't overload you with more information that you can understand.
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Rating: 4.4
Cost : Kindle: $20.79
Paperback: $23.78
This is your perfect companion if you already completed a few android projects and looking for more knowledge and complex projects. No verbosity, clear and concise content, this book explains all the features – even the latest ones, extremely well. If you want to explore your creativity and look for challenges, this is the book you must read and explore. Topics like threads, JUnit, performance tuning are covered in-depth along with other core concepts.
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Rating: 4.2
Cost : Kindle: $26.39
Paperback: $29.70
This is a good book for those who want to learn Android from scratch. The Kindle version of this book is free, so for those who do not know what to expect or whether you want to learn Android or not, this book could be the starting point. The book is not detailed but covers all the important concepts for you to build simple android apps. There are many code samples, case studies, and tutorials that help you understand the UI design easily, which is otherwise a difficult task.
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Rating: 4.1
Cost: Kindle: $0.0
Paperback: $16.99
This is an advanced level book, and you must be able to write simple apps and programs before you grab this book. It is a comprehensive guide and reference that you can keep in your workplace to refer to during your project work or use as a detailed material to learn advanced Android. The author not only talks about technical aspects but also mentions how Android first developed the best practices to follow and detailed code examples.
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Rating: 3.8
Cost :
Paperback: $47.96
An amazing book for intermediate to expert level Android developers. This book covers all the best practices and understands the architecture, lifecycle, UI, and many more things about Android. The examples are simple yet powerful and explained very well. The hands-on approach followed in this book makes it stand out from the other books available in the market. You should know the basics of Java to learn from this book.
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Rating: 3.7
Cost: Kindle: $26.39
Paperback: $26.54
Knowing design patterns for development in any language saves you a lot of time and effort and helps you build apps with best practices and cleaner code. This book attempts to do the same with the help of 58 different patterns. The book is divided into parts and slowly moves from phone app development, Android OS, Android fragmentation, antipatterns (indicating common mistakes), and finally, design patterns. Each chapter explains one pattern.
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Rating: 3.5
Cost: Kindle: $22.50
Paperback: $36.05
You can buy this book here.
This is a nice primer for those who want to start developing games using the Android platform. It covers basic gaming fundamentals, basics of Android and Java; however, it is recommended to have some prior knowledge of Java before reading this book. The book gently introduces readers to the Android platform and moves towards creating a game engine, and developing 2D and 3D games using OpenGL ES and Canvas API.
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Rating: 3.0
Cost: Kindle: $39.99
Paperback: $41.65
You can start Android app development on Windows, Mac, or Linux and will need Java JDK5 or later and Android studio. Our list contains all types of books catering to beginners, intermediates, and experienced programmers. If you are just starting, "Android application development all-in-one for dummies" and "GUI design for android apps" will be the best books for you. If you are just looking for a quick, handy reference guide, "Android programming: The big nerd Ranch guide" or "The Busy Coder's Guide to Advanced Android Development" should be your ideal choice. For advanced developers, "Android Programming: Pushing the limits" and "The Busy Coder's Guide to Advanced Android Development" are some of the best books. Let us know which book you are going to start today!
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