While building and testing an android application, my developer keeps sending me updates which sometimes is not compatible with some android versions.


To the experts in the house,i keep asking the developer why it works perfectly on some versions of Android and does not on others, no sensible response so far. Is there a way to ensure that the entire build is compatible with most versions.

Your response will be highly appreciated

Apparently your developer is learning the hard way the issues of compatibility between android versions and devices. There are rules to follow when developing an app that works across versions of android and devices. The problem is that in most developed countries very few people have android versions lower than 3.0
But in Nigeria and most developing countries, older devices are more prominent.

a. Use appcompat for uniform UI across android versions.
b. You may need to use network libraries(http,socket,etc) that support lower versions. In some cases you will need to actually write your own network stack. Most of the open source libraries dont support older devices.
c. Its always better to test on older devices first and then complete your test on newer devices.
Wish your developer best of luck.

Android version varies on different devices. The latest android is Android N. if Google release a new version today, some features the version have would not work on Android N. so if you want apps that target Android N to work, you have to look for and alternative way to archive d same results or you will remove d feature for it to be compatible with android N

Of course, Android provide support library. Tell your developer to learn about it. And most of the API contained in the android SDK have support for backward compatibility, and i would say its pretty more easier to design apps that is compatible with DEVICES running OS as far back as android 3.0...