I have an Android device, apparently with API Level 10.
I'm developping an Android Application and I need to test it on API level 12.
I don't know much about Android and API levels, so my question is: Can I update my device to a higer API level ? (it says no New version available, aren't hier APIs considered new version?)
(I can't use the Emulators, as they really need a huge amount of ressources to start.)
Alternatively, is it possible to test the following code, on my API Level 10 device ?
UsbManager manager = (UsbManager) this.context.getSystemService(Context.USB_SERVICE);
I have the following warning:
Yes higher API levels = latest releases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history#Version_history_by_API_level makes the correlation between API and version number (2.3.4).
You should work with a device supporting latest api and high resolution because many of your users might have that and you NEED as a developer to see and test your work on these platforms.
Get yourself a nexus phone, you can upgrade these to the latest Android version.
Android version release : Google releases it --> manufacturers and Telecom Carriers checks and adjust the release before making it available to you. Hence, for old phone, the manufacturers and carriers don't make the effort and you are stuck to old versions.
If you do no want to or if you cannot find a more recent handset, you can install a custom ROM to try to reach API 12. But in any case, if you start developing, you ll need good handset soon.
good luck
You can try to see if there is a custom rom for your device that is of a higher api version. But this won't accurately test your app because there is probably a very good reason that a newer operating system was not made available for your device. As such, your app and the SDKs in the new API will probably not be able to make use of the hardware resources available, and you won't get an accurate representation of your app's performance.
You mentioned you can't use emulators but have you considered Genymotion's emulators? Although it is resource intensive it is better than Google's emulators and is faster than actual devices.
Assuming your using Eclipse ADT. You DONT have to update your device to level or API 12. All you have to do is specify the minimum required SDK, which is API 8 in most Eclipse ADT setups. and set your target SDK to API 12. That way your app will run on devices from API 8 through to API 12 Including you device. FYI the latest API is now 19 (Android 4.4) Hope this helps.
Related
I am a bit new to mobile development. I have been using my GS7 to debug the app I am creating and I have an add-on that requires API level 25. My phone is currently running version 24. Is it possible to change the API level of the device?
You can do it by updating the operative system on your phone. The problem is most of the phone manufacturers cook the OS to highlight flagship features and to create a unique user experience (in my opinion, is a bad strategy which causes more problems than the added value). Since the OS is coocked there might not be an upgrade for your phone.
Here is a table with the API level and the name of the OS.
The most common solution for this is to use an emulator. If you are working in Mac there would be no trouble on using the default emulator, but in Windows or Linux Genymotion is recommended.
To be clear, there is no such a thing as changing the API level on your Android phone by code from an app. You have to update the OS.
Sometimes using target API code can be solved by other means, making your app compatible with older devices. Sometimes is simply using another class, other times there is a compatibility class, and worst case scenario is using an if statement where you check the OS version.
If you need to test a feature that requires api 25, then you should probably do it on the emulator.
It's gotten really good. I do most of my work on it.
https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator.html
I am using the Google SafetyNet API to detect device tampering in my application. Reference:: https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/safetynet/package-summary
But I cannot find any reference to the minimum support OS version. I thought I read somewhere that it was 7.0 but can't find that now.
It used to say "since" in the API docs, which was useful to tell the requirements but that seems to have disappeared.
What is the earliest version of Android that SafetyNet will work on, as supported by Android? Thanks.
All Play-enabled Android devices using Android 2.3 and above already use SafetyNet as long as the Play Services package is updated.
here
As mentioned in the prior response, Android 2.3. is the minimum supported version. However it should be noted that prior to Andoird 6.0, the SafetyNet could not read the device's bootstate, limiting the effectiveness of SafetyNet.
See Slide 50
I am thinking to make an application but at the time I don't have API 21 and API 22 installed on my SDK due to some network problems and I'm unable to download any thing at the moment. I was wondering if I can make an app effective enough to target many devices without using API 21 and API 22.
Bilal, judging from your comments to others, I'm getting the impression that you don't fully understand how the API levels work in Android. Let me try and explain.
The minimum API level is pretty self-explanatory, as it refers to the minimum Android OS version that can run your app. You want to set this as low as possible to target the most devices. To determine which level you set depends entirely on your application. For example, if your app requires access to the Calendar APIs, your minimum API level would be 7, because that is when those APIs were introduced.
You almost always want to set your maximum API level to the highest possible. Google encourages this, because it allows you to take advantage of all of the new APIs that have been released. But what about the devices that are outdated? You can still enable backwards compatibility with those devices using the Support Library.
Finally, it is not necessary to download each and every API level in the SDK manager. You only need to download the most recent.
I am a beginner on android programming. I am at the first at all. I wanna learn some important point.
Now, I am installing the programs and platforms which I need to develop Android Apps. On the SDK Manager there are few options to download Android API.
Which one should I prefer? I want to that, my app will run on all android roms and versions like ICS or JellyBean.
Thanks!
In order to support as many users as you can, you should opt for the lowest version API, since apps written for an older version of Android will work for future versions as well (although they may not be optimal). Once you need a feature in a later version, you can increment your minimum SDK version.
I would look through the different SDK versions (e.g. 2.1) and see which features (and/or permissions) you need for your app.
Keep in mind that older phones may not have certain capabilities, and you may not be able to support them. Therefore you should weigh if what you're adding is worth alienating the users you will no longer be able to support. Android provides a table of market share per version.
You mention that you want to support ICS (4.0) and Jellybean (4.1 and 4.2), which together control a little less than 50% of the Android market. It is worth looking into supporting Gingerbread (2.3) as well for another 45%.
Another option of course is to branch your code depending on the user's OS version, but this requires a little more maintenance work. However, if you are supporting pre- and post-Holo-themed versions (ie for the action bar), it may not add that much overhead.
It really depends on your target market, purpose, and familiarity with Android.
Android maintains forward-compatibility which means an app designed for 2.1 for example will work on later versions (in most cases). However there are some features added in later versions which are only supported starting with a certain SDK version.
This page may be helpful for you
Android version 2.3 - 2.3.2 (API 9) are declared as obsolete, and according to Android Market statistics, are very rare (0.5% of market users).
The question is:
Why is API 9 declared obsolete and more importantly, is there any reason why should I not use it? I've been using API 9 and see no problems with it... am I missing something?
Better not fix it if it's not broken, right?
EDIT:
Clarification:
If I would update my applications' API from 9 to 10, what would be the benefits?
I can only see negative effects:
1% of users will suddenly find out that the app doesn't work on their phones any longer. This is even worse with paid apps. Or that I'd be forced to maintain two versions of each app.
Have a look at the description of API levels. Gingerbread API (9) has been replaced by Gingerbread MR1 (10). You should upgrade to this API.
The current version of the android OS is 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). 2.3/2.3.2 is quite a few versions ago and was quickly replaced by 2.3.3. (api lvl 10), so it is very reasonable (as time progresses and changes / updates are introduced) to "shelve" a specific version so to speak.
However, the one strength in the android OS is backwards compatibility. While older devices (pre 2.3) will not be able to run your applications, all applications going forward will. There is technically no problem running the older OS's but bug fixes/changes...etc mean you may be inadvertently using buggy code that contains security flaws or other issues.
It's best to pick the API version that will reach the majority of your target market most effectively.
For example, if you wanted to take advantage of some screaming new OpenGL features on the newer higher powered phone you wouldn't want to run it an older API level and possibly create a storm of angry users because their phone doesn't have the HP to run it!
However a more simple application might be fine just running on an older OS (like the Chuck Norris random fact generator).
You should always go for the lowest possible API to use. Simply because the lower your API level is, the more users can you reach.
So looking at the current stats, you are able to reach 97.9% if you "dumb" yourself down to API level 7.
But why API level 9 is obsolete? One could not know for sure, but most likely because it had some major flaws.
The Lvl9 is obsolete because if you want to develop for Gingerbread you should use 2.3.3+ (Lvl 10). This is because the "old Gingerbread" (lvl 9) has some significant issues.
Well, I don't really think you should be worry about the OS itself. But many Droid programers, like myself, are not testing Gingerbread version on emulators. Mostly, because it's not showing on the SDK interface (appears only when you check the obsolete filter). So, I guess that other programers are ignoring this version also. That's the only problem I can think.