I Didn't Realize I Was Growing with Every Generation of Mobile Development

Lương Đỗ Minh Hưng — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 07:14:21 +0000

Chapter 1 - Foundation

Looking back, between 2011 and 2012, I spent countless hours reading Beginning J2ME: From Novice to Professional. On many days, I would spend an entire day studying a single chapter and experimenting with the code. My goal was simple: to learn how to build applications for Java ME phones. At the time, developing for Samsung devices required understanding many device-specific technical limitations and APIs described in the Samsung SDK documentation.

I realize I wasn't just learning a programming language. I was learning how to think like an engineer.

Back then, every day brought new errors and unexpected challenges. There were no AI assistants, very few online resources, and no one to ask for help. I sometimes spent days debugging a single issue.

Every accepted answer on Stack Overflow taught me something that no textbook could.

During that period, Stack Overflow became my most valuable mentor. Through persistence, trial and error, and endless hours of self-learning.

Those long nights weren't just about learning J2ME. They built the foundation that eventually helped me develop my first mobile applications, including an English–Vietnamese dictionary and a simple game. More importantly, they opened the door to my first professional role as a Mobile Application Developer.

At the time, I had no roadmap. I simply believed that if I kept learning every day, I would become better.

Chapter 2 - Engineering

Without a mentor to guide me, I spent years figuring things out on my own. I entered the workforce believing my job was to write clean, reliable code. Over the years, I have learned about building successful software thanks to the companies that I worked for and my colleagues.

Between 2012 and 2015, working in a professional environment taught me how to collaborate with designers, backend engineers, QA engineers, business analysts, product owners, and stakeholders. Every feature became a collaborative effort rather than an individual task.

At the same time, I expanded my technical skills across Android, iOS, LibGDX, Cocos2d-x, and Xamarin, while learning software engineering practices such as architecture, version control, testing, CI/CD, and Agile development.

The biggest lesson wasn't learning another programming language or framework. It was understanding that debugging rarely starts and ends with your own code. A problem could come from backend services, unclear requirements, data validation, UI design, or even business logic. I gradually shifted from asking, "Where is the bug?" to "How does the entire system work?"

Writing code was only the beginning. Collaboration, communication, and engineering turned software into products.

For a few years then, I continued to contribute my best in mobile application development at a higher scale in bigger companies. My team count increased from under 5 to more than 20 at the same time. I started learning how to design a system that secures an app at a multinational scale. How to manage the workload that is not dependent on me alone, but on other teams also, while continuously learning more software engineering practices such as Flutter, React Native, ReactJS, NodeJS, Java Springboot, and Python. Additionally, more skills are not related to software engineering only, including people management, stakeholder management, critical thinking, etc.

It was exciting, but also exhausting. There were many nights when I returned home completely drained, wondering if I was keeping up with everything the industry expected from a senior engineer.

This stage taught me that software engineering isn't about writing software. It's about building products that people can rely on.

Chapter 3 - AI Era

The arrival of AI marked another major turning point in my career. This time, it wasn’t about learning another programming language or framework; it was about learning how to work alongside AI. For the first time, many tasks that once required hours of manual work could now be completed with AI in minutes.

Just like other engineers, I started working with tools like Cursor and Claude to assist with coding, debugging, documentation, and technical research. Beyond coding assistance, I learned how to collaborate effectively with AI by writing detailed product specifications, defining clear constraints, building reusable agent workflows, and integrating tools through MCP servers. By writing clear specifications, defining rules and boundaries, and breaking problems into smaller tasks, I could let AI handle much of the implementation. At the same time, I focused on architecture, product decisions, and validation. Out of curiosity, I also began building small AI agents, experimenting with RAG, fine-tuning, and data pipelines through self-learning, just as I had learned J2ME years earlier.

AI didn't just change how I build software; it also changed what users expect from software.

After years of building super apps for millions of users, I noticed that people no longer wanted more features or more screens. They wanted to describe what they needed and let AI handle the rest. Many workflows, such as searching, translating, filling forms, and summarizing information, previously required navigating through multiple screens, could now be completed with a single conversation with an AI assistant.

That made me wonder: if conversations can replace many traditional app workflows, what will the future of mobile applications look like?

After thinking about this for a long time, I don't believe mobile applications will disappear. Instead, I believe they will evolve.

Features will become capabilities.

The interface will become simpler. Many traditional screens will disappear. Workflows will become conversations. AI becomes the interface, while applications provide trusted capabilities behind the scenes.

For the first time in my career, I find myself asking a different question. Not "How do I build this feature?" but "Does this feature even need to exist if AI can help users achieve the same goal through a conversation?”

As I reflect on this journey, I realize that every generation of technology has changed the tools I use, but never the mindset I need. Books taught me how to learn. My colleagues taught me how to build. AI is teaching me how to rethink software. Whatever comes next, I know one thing won't change: the curiosity to keep learning.

DEV Community: Lương Đỗ Minh Hưng

I Didn't Realize I Was Growing with Every Generation of Mobile Development

Chapter 1 - Foundation

Chapter 2 - Engineering

Chapter 3 - AI Era