Android the Right Way: 5 new ebooks on making Android apps
A new five-book series on building and shipping Android apps, from an empty Android Studio project to Play review, monetization and on-device AI. Every book has a free sample chapter.
The store has a second series today: Android the Right Way, five practical ebooks on building Android apps and getting them onto Google Play. They sit alongside the six Homelab the Right Way books, and they are written the same way: short chapters, real code, diagrams instead of walls of text, and a checklist at the end.
The author ships Android apps on Google Play as Hartmann Studios, and the books use real, public examples from those apps where they help (the apps page lists them). Every version number, limit and deadline in the series was checked against Google's official pages in October 2026, and the books name the page.
Each book is a PDF and EPUB, $19, and each one has a free sample: the cover, the full table of contents and one complete chapter.
Which one to start with
- New to Android, or never published an app: start with Book 1.
- You can build screens but Compose keeps surprising you: Book 2.
- Your app exists and Play Console keeps saying no: Book 3.
- It's live and you want it to pay for itself: Book 4.
- You want AI features without a cloud bill: Book 5, which ends with an Android client for your own Ollama server at home.
Book 1: Ship Your First Android App
From Empty Project to Google Play: Android Studio, Kotlin, Signing, Testing Tracks and Your First Release
From an empty Android Studio project to a real app live on Google Play: setup, a first Kotlin + Compose app, the decisions you can't undo, a signed release build, Play Console and the 12-tester closed test.
Who it's for: You have an app idea, or a project that runs on your phone, and you want it live on Google Play.
62 pages, 23 diagrams. The free sample is all of Chapter 7, "Testing Tracks and the 12-Tester Rule".
Get the book · Read the free sample
Book 2: Compose Without the Confusion
Kotlin and Jetpack Compose Fundamentals: State, Layouts, Navigation, ViewModels and Room
Kotlin and Jetpack Compose that make sense: state and recomposition, layouts that behave, Material 3, Navigation 3, ViewModels with StateFlow, and Room.
Who it's for: You write Compose screens but state, recomposition and ViewModels still feel like guesswork.
67 pages, 25 diagrams. The free sample is all of Chapter 4, "State Without the Confusion".
Get the book · Read the free sample
Book 3: Pass Google Play Review
Target SDK, 16 KB Pages, Data Safety, Permissions and Automated Releases Without Rejections
Get an Android app through Google Play review and keep it there: target API 36, 16 KB page size, sensitive permissions, Data safety and account deletion, honest listings and vitals.
Who it's for: You publish on Google Play and want releases to stop getting rejected or blocked.
59 pages, 25 diagrams. The free sample is all of Chapter 3, "16 KB Page Size".
Get the book · Read the free sample
Book 4: Get Paid for Your Android App
AdMob, Consent, Play Billing Subscriptions and Store Listings That Convert, Done Honestly
The money side of an Android app done honestly: the right business model, AdMob with consent first, Play Billing from connection to acknowledgement, subscriptions, and listings that convert without overpromising.
Who it's for: Your app is live and you want it to earn something without tricking users or breaking Google's rules.
62 pages, 24 diagrams. The free sample is all of Chapter 5, "Play Billing Fundamentals".
Get the book · Read the free sample
Book 5: On-Device AI for Android
ML Kit, Local LLMs and Your Own Homelab AI Server in Kotlin Apps
Real AI features in a Kotlin app without sending everything to someone else's cloud: ML Kit, Gemini Nano, LiteRT, a local LLM on the phone, and a streaming chat with your own Ollama server.
Who it's for: You want AI features in a Kotlin app that run on the phone or on your own server, not someone else's cloud.
60 pages, 23 diagrams. The free sample is all of Chapter 7, "Your Homelab AI Server".
Get the book · Read the free sample
What every book includes
- Chapter-opener graphics and diagrams for the ideas that are easier to see than read
- Code in current Kotlin and Jetpack Compose
- A checklist and a cheat sheet
- PDF and EPUB
The free samples are the quickest way to see whether the style fits you. Over the next five days the blog has one post from each book, starting tomorrow with the two decisions you can't undo before your first Google Play upload.
