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I am making an android app, and am wondering what the industry's thoughts are on supporting older android versions like GingerBread and FroYo. Should a developer like me take the extra step to make my app compatible with those older versions, or are they obsolete? I am speaking in terms of the market in 2014.
Increasing my minimum SDK version opens up some more APIs, so which option should I pick, compatibility or APIs and features?
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android:minSdkVersion — Specifies the minimum API Level on which the application is able to run. The default value is "1". android:targetSdkVersion — Specifies the API Level on which the application is designed to run.
The min sdk version is the earliest release of the Android SDK that your application can run on. Usually this is because of a problem with the earlier APIs, lacking functionality, or some other behavioural issue. The target sdk version is the version your application was targeted to run on.
For the best development experience with the Android 11 SDK, use Android Studio 4.2 or higher.
Beginning in August 2021, the Google Play Console requires that new apps target API level 30 (Android 11.0) or higher. Existing apps are required to target API level 30 or higher beginning in November 2021.
Most of the Android devices are above the Gingerbread level. But there are still a decent number of those devices out there. You, as a developer, must decide if the number of users who would potentially download your app for those versions of Android is worth the level of effort in developing the app for those versions. For the past year, both companies I've worked at have begun to work on 4.0 and above only and have forsaken the lower versions.
To get the current information on what the ecosystem looks like for Android, check out Google's dashboard
As I write this comment, Gingerbread and below is around 15% of the total population.
2019 UPDATE: Google's dashboard states that only 0.2% of Android users are running Gingerbread (Android 2.3). Around 3% are using Jelly Bean (Android 4.1/4.2/4.3), and 7.6% are running KitKat (Android 4.4).
Generally, companies target a minimum version of KitKat, or SDK 19, for new endeavors. For personal projects, we usually choose Lollipop, or SDK 21, as it brings a number of improvements to the table, such as improved build times.
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[2020 UPDATE] You need to base on Android Pie Chart . It is always updated.
here's the link of the dash board:
https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html
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