To hire an Android developer: shortlist people with apps on Google Play you can install, ask whether they build with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose and why, ask how they test across the huge range of Android phones, and set up the Play Console account in your name early, because a new personal account needs a two-week closed test before it can publish.
Android is the platform where "it works on my phone" means least. Thousands of device models, screen sizes from small phones to tablets and foldables, and manufacturers who change the system in their own ways. Hiring for Android is mostly hiring for the discipline to deal with that. The general process is in how to hire a freelance developer without Upwork or Fiverr. This is the part only Android has.
When native Android makes sense
Native Android is worth hiring for when:
- Most of your users are on Android, which is true in many markets outside the US.
- The app talks to hardware: Bluetooth devices, scanners, point-of-sale terminals, in-car systems.
- It needs deep system features such as background work, widgets or tight integration with other apps.
If you need iPhone and Android from day one and none of the above applies, a cross-platform build is usually the cheaper first version. Flutter or React Native covers that decision.
Install their apps on a cheap phone
Ask for Google Play links to apps they built. Then install one on the least impressive Android phone you can borrow, because that is the phone a lot of your users will have.
Check:
- Speed on a modest device. Does it open in reasonable time? Does scrolling stutter?
- The back gesture. Android users go back with a swipe or a button, constantly. Does it go where they expect, or close the app?
- Rotation and dark mode. Turn the phone, switch the theme. Layouts that fall apart were never tested.
- The listing. "Updated on" tells you whether the app is maintained. The Data safety section tells you someone declared what it collects.
Kotlin, Compose and why it matters to you
Google recommends Jetpack Compose as the modern toolkit for building Android interfaces, and Compose is written in Kotlin. Many apps still use the older views-based system, and Google's own documentation says teams can keep using it or migrate gradually.
What this means for hiring:
- A new app should almost certainly be built with Kotlin and Compose. Ask why if a candidate proposes otherwise. There can be a good reason; you want to hear it.
- An existing app in Java or the older views system needs someone comfortable with both, because a rewrite is rarely worth it.
- Ask: "What is the oldest Android version you would support for my app, and why?" It is a trade-off between reaching older phones and the cost of testing them. A thought-through answer is a good sign.
Ask how they test across devices
This is the question that separates Android developers most clearly.
"How do you make sure an app works on phones you do not own?"
Good answers mention a mix: a few physical devices of different sizes and ages, emulators for the rest, cloud device testing for wider coverage, and crash reporting after launch so problems on unusual devices show up quickly. A weak answer is "I test on my phone".
Large screens are now part of the job. For apps targeting Android 16 (API level 36), on screens at least 600dp wide (most tablets and unfolded foldables), the system ignores an app's requests to lock orientation or aspect ratio, and the app fills the window (Android 16 behaviour changes, checked in October 2026). An app designed only for portrait phones needs work to look right there. Ask whether they have dealt with it.
The Play Console rules that add weeks
These are the facts that most often wreck an Android launch date. All checked against Google's help pages in October 2026.
| Rule | What to plan |
|---|---|
| Registration | A 25 USD one-time fee. Choose a personal or organisation account. |
| Closed testing for new personal accounts | Personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 need a closed test with at least 12 testers, opted in for 14 continuous days, before they can apply for production access. |
| Target API level | From 31 August 2026, new apps and updates must target Android 16 (API level 36). Google lets you request an extension to 1 November 2026. |
| App signing | New apps use Play App Signing by default: Google holds the key that signs the app users download, and can reset your upload key if it is lost. |
The target API rule is also why an Android app is never finished. Google raises the required level every year, and an app that falls behind stops being able to publish updates. Budget for it. How much app maintenance costs covers the rest of the yearly upkeep.
Accounts in your name
Create the Play Console account yourself, in your company's name, and invite the developer. Google does allow transferring an app between accounts, and the users, ratings and reviews move with it. But both accounts have to be active, and the current owner has to request the transfer. If the app sits in a freelancer's account and they disappear, that request never gets made. Who owns the code covers the rest of what should be in your name.
Where to look
On Shipfolks you can browse Kotlin developers who are open to work, each with the apps they shipped linked from their profile. Install one before you message them. Five minutes on a cheap phone tells you more than a CV.