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Future Simplification: Raising minSdkVersion

Current State (after Android 15 update)

  • minSdkVersion: 24 (Android 7.0 Nougat, August 2016)
  • compileSdkVersion: 35 (Android 15)
  • targetSdkVersion: 35 (Android 15)

Simplification Opportunities

If Raising minSdk to 26 (Android 8.0 Oreo, August 2017)

Benefits:

  • Notification channels are always available (no version check needed)
  • Can use Notification.Builder directly instead of NotificationCompat
  • Oreo has ~<3% of active devices (as of late 2024)

Files to simplify:

  • NotificationChannels.kt - Remove Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.O check

If Raising minSdk to 31 (Android 12, October 2021)

Benefits:

  • FLAG_IMMUTABLE always required for PendingIntents
  • Can remove pendingIntentFlagCompat() wrapper entirely
  • Just always add PendingIntent.FLAG_IMMUTABLE

Files to simplify:

  • SystemUtils.kt - Remove pendingIntentFlagCompat(), inline the flag
  • CalendarMonitor.kt - Direct use of FLAG_IMMUTABLE
  • EventNotificationManager.kt - Direct use of FLAG_IMMUTABLE

If Raising minSdk to 33 (Android 13, August 2022)

Benefits:

  • POST_NOTIFICATIONS permission always required
  • Can simplify notification permission flow
  • Runtime receiver export flags always required

Files to simplify:

  • PermissionsManager.kt - Remove version checks in hasNotificationPermission()
  • MainActivity.kt - Simplify runtime receiver registration (always use RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED flag)

Recommendations

  1. Conservative approach: Raise to minSdk 26 first

    • Small user impact (~3% of users)
    • Removes notification channel version checks
    • Aligns with modern Android development practices

  2. Aggressive approach: Raise to minSdk 31

    • Moderate user impact
    • Significant code simplification
    • PendingIntent flags become much simpler

Android Version Distribution Reference

Check current distribution at: https://apilevels.com/

As of late 2024:

  • API 24-25 (Nougat): ~2%
  • API 26-27 (Oreo): ~3%
  • API 28 (Pie): ~5%
  • API 29-30 (Android 10-11): ~20%
  • API 31+ (Android 12+): ~70%

Implementation Notes

When raising minSdk:

  1. Update minSdkVersion in both android/build.gradle and android/app/build.gradle
  2. Search for version checks: grep -r "VERSION_CODES\." android/app/src/main/
  3. Remove/simplify checks that are now always true
  4. Update Robolectric test @Config(sdk = [...]) annotations if needed
  5. Test on emulator at the new minimum API level