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Android

Justin Tew
Justin Tew
6,849 Points
Posted by Justin Tew
Justin Tew
6,849 Points

Which Android Phone Should I buy for development?

I am just getting started learning android programming and am realizing I need an actually device to do some real testing and to show off my apps. I was hoping to spend under $50 and buying used is fine. Current I'm thinking the Nexus 4 or the Samsung Vitality. What models would you guys recommend? Also where you guys recommend buying the phone from?

Thanks in advance!

Brandon Mowat
Brandon Mowat
8,186 Points
Brandon Mowat
Brandon Mowat
8,186 Points

When I've developed for Android I've always found a real phone works best. Emulators are terribly slow. I used a Moto G. It's cheap so I didn't have to shell out a ton of money. I would actually suggest a Nexus5. They're super cheap now too and run stock android which is a huge bonus.

Hope that helps!

2 Answers

Steve Hunter
Steve Hunter
57,712 Points

I'd say you are fine using the various emulators, either the stock one or something like Genymotion.

These emulate all the relevant functionality of a phone and can be used to show tablet layouts, small or large phones, so they are pretty flexible.

If you're just starting out with Android I'd say that it's worth trying the emulators before investing in a phone just for that purpose.

Steve.

Justin Tew
Justin Tew
6,849 Points
Justin Tew
Justin Tew
6,849 Points

Steve,

Ok, I probably will wait until I have made a few more apps to buy one. I have been using the stock one that comes with android studio since I started and it is pretty slow. I'll download Genymotion.

Thanks

Steve Hunter
Steve Hunter
57,712 Points

The stock emulator takes forever!!! Genymotion is much quicker.

James Simshaw
James Simshaw
28,738 Points

I find the stock emulator works pretty well if you can utilize hardware acceleration(HAXM, QMEU, etc).

David Axelrod
David Axelrod
36,073 Points
David Axelrod
David Axelrod
36,073 Points

Genymotion is fantastic. I have a gs4 and sometimes Genymotion is faster and cable free ^_^