Nokia X platform SDK released: 75 percent of Android apps require no changes to run on Nokia X

Nokia XL is a 5-inch phablet with Android underpinnings

A big concern with Nokia’s X family of Android-based devices was compatibility with general Android apps. While Nokia was gung-ho about bringing hundreds of thousands of apps at the announcement at MWC 2014, we had our doubts about whether developers would want to put in the effort to port apps for the Nokia X platform.



But it would seem most Android apps are already compatible for the Nokia X phones. The Finnish company has released the Nokia X Services SDK to developers, which gives more details about how to begin making Android apps for the Nokia X. The official SDK page clearly says 75 percent of Android apps will be able to run on Nokia X without any changes necessary. That’s a huge chunk of apps and if true, Nokia has a good chance of convincing developers about the platform.



Nokia has also launched an app compatibility tool, which lets developers check whether any modifications are required. If at all they are, Nokia says it will not take more than 8 hours or a day’s work to make the porting happen. These changes will broadly involve replacing existing Google services sync for notifications, location services, in-app payments, etc. In its place, they will have to include support for Nokia In-App Payment, Here Maps, Nokia Notifications, distribution in Nokia Store, operator billing support, and the Nokia X icon toolkit.



The core Nokia X platform is built on AOSP v4.1.2, which supports API level 16, so it’s a fairly recent build, even if it’s not the most recent. One app that will most definitely make the move is popular called ID app Truecaller, which like predictive keyboard app SwiftKey, announced it will be dedicating resources for the X platform. It’s still early days, but things are looking up for Nokia X.