Android app updates
Google Play now requires new apps and updates to target Android 16 (API level 36), and apps that sit on an older target stop being offered to new users on newer phones. If your app was last built in 2022 or 2023, it is probably targeting API 33 or lower, and the next update you try to upload will be refused. We take over the app as it stands, upgrade the build, fix what breaks, replace SDKs that are no longer maintained and get a clean release through Play review. You keep your developer account, your code and your users.
Raising the target SDK number takes a minute. The work is in what changes once you do. These are the places older apps most often break.
Apps that target recent Android versions draw behind the status and navigation bars. Layouts built for older versions end up with buttons under the system bars until insets are handled.
Right whenEvery app on an older target will see this.
The old onBackPressed handling is replaced by the predictive back system. Custom back handling, dialogs and fragment flows need to move over.
Right whenApps with custom navigation or many nested screens.
Notifications, media access, exact alarms, foreground services and background limits have all tightened since Android 12. Anything that quietly worked in 2022 may now fail silently.
Right whenDelivery, reminder, tracking, chat and media apps.
Ad, analytics, payment, map and push libraries from 2022 may be unmaintained or incompatible with the new Gradle and target levels. We replace them with supported versions.
Right whenApps that have not been rebuilt for more than a year.
C and C++ libraries, game engines and some video, scanning and encryption SDKs ship .so files that must be aligned for 16 KB pages.
Right whenCamera, scanning, media, game and security apps.
Why now
Each year the gap between the old target and the current one grows, and every skipped Android version adds more changes to untangle in one go.
A crash or a payment bug found next month cannot be corrected if the build will not upload.
On newer phones, an app that targets too low is not offered, so installs fall without anything visibly breaking.
The longer a project sits, the more likely the person who knew it has left, and the harder the handover.
These are the parts of an older app we most often touch.
Raising targetSdk and compileSdk to API 36, with every behaviour change that comes with it handled and tested rather than hidden behind a flag.
Replacing abandoned or outdated libraries for ads, analytics, payments, maps, push notifications and sign-in, and removing the ones the app no longer needs.
Checking native .so files, rebuilding or updating them with aligned ELF segments, and confirming the app runs on a 16 KB device image.
Policy warnings, data safety answers, permission declarations, account verification and the extension request form where it still applies.
Flutter, React Native, Unity and Cordova or Ionic apps brought onto framework versions and plugins that support API 36.
If the original agency has gone and you only have a published APK or a half-complete repository, we assess what can be recovered and tell you honestly whether to repair or rebuild.
We read the project, build it, and check target SDK, Gradle and Android Gradle Plugin versions, third-party SDKs, native libraries and policy declarations. You get a written list of what must change and what can wait.
Gradle, the Android Gradle Plugin, Kotlin and dependencies move to current versions. Deprecated APIs are replaced and the app is compiled against API 36.
Edge-to-edge layouts, back navigation, permissions, background work and large-screen behaviour are tested on real devices and emulators across Android versions, and fixed screen by screen.
Data safety form, permission declarations and release notes are updated, the build goes to a closed or internal track first, then to production with a staged rollout and crash monitoring.
Since 31 August 2026, new apps and app updates on Google Play must target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher. Wear OS and Android Automotive apps need API 35, and Android TV and XR apps need API 34. Existing apps that target below API 35 are no longer shown to new users on devices running a newer version of Android.
Almost certainly. Apps from that period usually target API 31 to 33. You can keep running it for existing users, but you cannot upload a new version until it targets the current level, and it loses reach among new users on recent phones.
No. People who already installed it can keep using it and reinstall it from Google Play. The risk is to growth and updates: new users on newer phones stop seeing it, and you cannot ship fixes.
Google has offered an extension to 1 November 2026 for apps that received a policy warning in Play Console. Check the Policy status page for your app. The extension only delays the deadline, so the upgrade still has to be done.
Newer Android devices can use 16 KB memory pages instead of 4 KB. Apps that include native C or C++ libraries, directly or through an SDK, must have those libraries aligned for 16 KB. Pure Kotlin and Java apps are usually fine, but their SDKs may not be.
A small app with current libraries can be done in about a week. An older app with many SDKs, native code or a lot of screens usually takes two to four weeks. The audit gives a firm estimate before any build work starts.
Yes. We work remotely with clients in India, the UAE, the UK, the US and elsewhere, across time zones, with written updates and a shared issue list. You stay owner of the Play Console account and the code.
Access to the source repository, or the published app if the code is missing, plus read access to the Play Console so we can see policy warnings and the release history. We sign an NDA first if you ask.
