Apple's Swift might become a major asset for Android developers

It's no secret that Swift has quickly gained traction as an effective programming language for Apple's operating systems, and now that it is available as an open source platform, speculation has grown that Google may use it as a primary language for Android. While that may seem counterintuitive, Swift boasts an impressive developer community, and Swift for Android could help developers keep their costs down if versions for Android and iOS evolve hand-in-hand.

It's still unclear whether Google actually will embrace Swift, though, and there are potential downsides: Cross-platform development sometimes doesn't produce the superior user experience native apps can deliver, and serious questions remain about whether Java and Swift could co-exist in Android. But Swift has clearly emerged as a compelling, intuitive tool that helps developers create fast and powerful apps. Swift for Android surely won't occur overnight, but if it does emerge it could be a major asset for hybrid developers around the world. Article