Old Android device and new app? What is the "safe" version for you to continue using?

For reasons such as having a souvenir device, liking the device's design, not being able to find a similar device, not having enough money, etc., many Android users are still using old devices running older versions of Android, which are no longer supported by Google or the device manufacturer. If security is not a concern for you, then apps are definitely the most important thing on old Android. I myself often use old Android phones, many of which are still running Android 9 and do not have custom ROM to upgrade. So do applications still support these ancient Android versions? The reason lies not only in Google but also in the developer.

BlackBerry Priv stops at Android 6. Photo ZDNet Many Android applications require Google Play Services to function. Google Play Services helps connect applications to Google services, such as signing in with a Google account or Google Maps. Currently, Google Play Services only supports devices running Android 6.0 (with API 23), the latest version is 25.09.33 released in March 2025, supporting from Android 6.0 to Android 15. So in theory, applications that exploit Google Play Services still support Android 6.0 or higher. However, that is Google's request, and on the application developer's side, they will depend on the market share of the Android version, that is, the number of users of an Android version, to decide whether to support their application on old Android or not. According to StatCounter statistics, Android 6 Marshmallow used to be the most popular Android version, but now after 10 years since its release, Android 6 only accounts for 1.19% of the market share by the end of March 2025. Statistics from TelemetryDeck or AppBrain do not even list Android 6 because the rate is too low. So it is conceivable that many developers will stop supporting their applications on Android 6. So what about the remaining Android versions? By the end of March 2025, the market share of Android versions is as follows:

Android 8 - 2.06% Android 9 - 3.28% Android 10 - 5.7% Android 11 - 18.84% Android 12 - 12.42% Android 13 - 17.38% Android 14 - 34.58% Data from TelemetryDeck:

Android 8 - less than 1% Android 9 - 1.7%

Android 8 - 2.9% Android 9 - 5.4%

However, it's not just Google Play Services, many apps will need some features that older Android versions may not have even though they still support the new Google Play Services. A programmer on reddit shared that he is developing a launcher that uses widgets, and the widget feature has changed significantly between Android versions, such as Android 4 one style Android 9 another. Therefore, whether an application supports old Android versions or not depends on the features that application needs to have on the Android version. So this programmer thinks that Android 8 or 9 is the "lowest standard" or minimum for programmers. Another programmer said that not many programmers will support Android versions using API24 and earlier (ie older than Android 7). Although there are still some developers who still choose to support very old Android versions, they only do this if the old Android user base is still there and it will be time-consuming and resource-consuming to support Android versions with such a small number of users. In addition, newer versions of Android often have more effective ways to support programmers in developing applications as well as many improved features. So for older Android versions, a developer would have to write additional code just so the app could perform a similar feature if running on the new Android version. Developers will also have more Android versions to test the application on, making things even more confusing and difficult.

I went through a series of popular applications and the minimum Android version and found that many social networking applications, messaging applications, and entertainment applications still support old Android versions from Android 5.0 and above. Google itself still supports many services on Android versions 5.0 and 6.0. As for Microsoft, the Microsoft 365 suite needs Android 9.0 and the Microsoft Team application for teamwork will require the device to run 1 of the 4 latest Android versions (up to this point, from Android 12 onwards). AI applications require newer Android such as Copilot needs Android 9.0 and Gemini needs at least Android 10. I also looked at a series of applications from Vietnamese banks (not listed in this table because it is too long) and saw that the Android version requirements are also different but in general from Android 5 or higher.

Of course, over time, application developers will gradually stop supporting older Android versions. As of now Android 6 may be the minimum but in the next few years, Android 9 will be the minimum version. I think that currently, if you own a device running Android 9, this is almost the old, minimum version of Android that can be used normally with most applications still supported. However, if it is a safe choice, I think Android 12 or 13 will be better because they are still supported by Google with security updates (depending on whether the device manufacturer releases updates or not), are less "picky" about applications and will be suitable if you intend to keep the device for a few more years when it can no longer be upgraded.