Cross-platform mobile app development just got much easier with the release of Skip 1.0, a tool that allows developers to create Android apps using Swift.

Swift is the standard programming language for macOS and iOS development. Until now, there has been no easy way for iOS devs to release an Android version off of the same code base. Instead, developers have needed to use Kotlin or Java to manually write their Android app, or use frameworks like React, Vue, or similar frameworks that use web technologies. While popular, web-based frameworks often suffer from a lack of performance and interfaces that don’t quite look native.

Skip 1.0 hopes to address those issues with the first tool that makes cross-platform mobile development possible. Abe White, Skip co-founder, announced the news on X.

The company’s website explains how it works.

As you build your Swift and SwiftUI app in Xcode, the Skip Xcode plugin continuously transpiles it into the equivalent Kotlin and Jetpack Compose for Android. Develop dual-platform libraries or entire apps, with native performance and native user interfaces on both platforms.

The website emphasizes that Android apps created using Skip are truly native.

Skip apps don’t just “look native”, they are native: Swift and SwiftUI on iOS, Kotlin and Compose on Android. You know the difference, and so do your users.

Skip is tackling a major need within the mobile development community and will likely become a popular option for individuals and organizations looking to support both iOS and Android.