Another achievement in cross-platform compatibility, this time, to run Android applications on iOS.
The open source project by a company called FlexyCore, stems from their iSpectrum product that was a Java SDK fro the iPhone. When Apple placed restrictions on the way iPhone applications could be created, they stopped focusing on its development, and instead focused on solutions for Android. With their new Android knowledge they have taken their Java SDK to the next level, allowing it to run Android applications, which too are written in Java.
They have ported the Dalvik runtime to iOS along with a subset of Android APIs (Android Java Core APIs and 3D APIs). They have also eased the task of developing the missing Android APIs using Java bridges for the iOS framework.
The project called “in the box” is open source under the Apache Software License 2.0, and will allow Android developers to create Android applications using the Android SDK on any OS, and subsequently test and build it for iOS using “in the box” on a Mac. Such application can even be submitted to the Apple AppStore!
The developers of the application have created a video explaining how “in the box” can be used to run an application written in Java and compiled using the Android SDK on an iOS device: