Here’s how Google will bring new features to older Android versions

Google is introducing a new solution for older Android versions: the Extension Software Developer Kit. This allows developers to access features from newer Android versions on older versions of Android, including Android 11 and 12. This move is part of Google’s effort to add new features to devices that have not had OS updates in recent years receive.

Google said in an official blog post that the new feature would help “extend support for certain platform functionality to existing Android versions.”

As first reported by The Verge, Google’s Extension SDK, which allows developers to access features from newer Android versions on older versions, also paves the way for expanding Privacy Sandbox testing on Android. Privacy Sandbox is Google’s replacement for its ad tracking system, and the company plans to roll out the beta for the system on Android 13.

In addition, without releasing major OS upgrades, the company can update Privacy Sandbox on older Android versions thanks to Google’s Extension SDK. Google claims that this approach enables faster product implementation.

So by upgrading the fundamental components of Android through the Play Store, Google’s Extension SDK allows developers to access the capabilities of more recent Android versions on older versions.

But for end users, the bottom line is that users who are still running older versions of Android and those who aren’t interested in upgrading to a new phone with a newer software version can more easily access critical updates directly through the Google Play Store. And according to The Verge, this system has been implemented before for updating systems such as media playback, Wi-Fi, permissions, and the Android Runtime.

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