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Hello fellow Android Devs!

My Question/Topic today is about the "Minimum SDK" we set for our Projects..

For years now, "API-15" (IceCreamSandwich/4.0.3) has been typical, covering 97.4% of users.

However, I've recently noticed now that "API-16" (JellyBean 4.1) has caught up, at 95.2%!

Over the past few years, the percentages were MUCH further apart, making API-15 the go-to.

SO, MY QUESTION IS:

Are there any advantages to setting API-16 as my Project's "Minimum SDK", instead of API-15?
For example, less need for certain support libs, or better compatability with anything, etc. etc.?
Basically, ANY reason at all why choosing API-16 as my "Minimum SDK" might benefit anything?

..Thoughts?

StudioB
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2 Answers2

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I've worked on apps with both 15 and 16 as the minSdkVersion. I would recommend a minApi of 16, particularly if you use SQLite.

Api 16 has:

  1. SQLite 3.7.11. You now have setForeignKeyConstraintsEnabled for your SQLiteDatabase.
  2. Up navigation. Api 16 supports android:parentActivityName in the manifest, so you don't also have to have metadata tags.
  3. Font families in xml. For your password EditText, you can now set android:fontFamily=sans-serif, so it no longer defaults to monospace.

The drawback is that the Samsung Galaxy S2 runs on API 15, so if this is an important demographic for you, you'd be missing out on them if you use minApi 16. All of my new projects are minApi 16.

chessdork
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Android 4.1 (API 16) has Has offline voice recognition. Offline voice recognition enables you to perform voice actions, like dictating texts or using various voice commands, without an internet connection.

Mukesh M
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