Use a specific minSdkVersion only in a Debug mode

Question

How can I use a specific minSdkVersion only in a debug mode? I want to use the minSdkVersion 21 for debug mode, but minSdkVersion 15 for the release. I don't wanna use flavors for this because will give troubles.

I think the could be like this (but don't work):

defaultConfig {
        applicationId "blacktoad.com.flapprototipo"
        minSdkVersion 15

        debug{
            minSdkVersion 21
        }

        targetSdkVersion 23
        versionCode 42
        versionName "1.72"

        multiDexEnabled true
    }

Answer 1

There exist a better way to do it without Product Flavors or hooking into the build flow. Example:

  buildTypes {
     debug {
       defaultConfig.minSdkVersion 19
       defaultConfig.vectorDrawables.useSupportLibrary = true
       defaultConfig.multiDexEnabled = true
     ...