Can Android Run Java Applets?

Are there any Android browsers that support loading a Java Applet in-browser? Can I run Java Applets on Android? Normally, we get this question one to three times a month. Users want to run Java Applets within a web browser on Android. We get questions like is there a java plugin for Android’s Chrome? How about a java plugin for Android’s Firefox? Unfortunately, there is no Android browser with a java plugin or support for java applet. Here’s why:

Why Can’t I Load A Java Applet On Android?

Java Applets run within web browsers. Java Applets do not work within a browser on an Android because they do not make plug-ins like the ones you’d find on desktop computers. Furthermore, there are no plans for creating one since the resources required would not suffice on a mobile device and the technology is considered obsolete.

There’s A Javascript Setting On Android, What Is It For?

A fair question for a novice to ask. However, JavaScript is not the same as Java. JavaScript can run native within a web browser and doesn’t use many resources. Running a Java applet on an Android device would hog resources and run very slow even on the fastest Android device.

So, How Is It That Android Runs On Java?

Developers write apps in Java and the kernel of the Android OS includes Java-compatible libraries. However, it has nothing to do with Java Applets running in the web browser. It just doesn’t work that way. Sorry for bursting your bubble but you simply cannot run applets on Android.

JAVA applets are not supported on Android. The version of JAVA used on Android is not just your run of the mill JAVA so you would need to get a JAVA compiler on the phone first to run any applets. Which I don’t think is possible or at least feasible.¹

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