Comment tester les applications mobiles pour les anciennes versions d’Android ?

Install Android Studio- -Set up a new project or open an existing project -Create an Android Virtual Device (AVD): Go to the "AVD Manager" by clicking on the AVD Manager icon in the toolbar or navigating to Tools -> AVD Manager. -Launch the AVD: In the AVD Manager

The easiest way is to run the application on an emulator. There are many online opportunities as well, that offer different emulators for running the applications - here, however, it is important to understand how those webpages use your data. However, if you have some physical old devices available, then it is even better, since many of them run their own custom user interfaces that can cause different behaviour in applications.

Emulators are invaluable tools for app development. They enable developers to simulate diverse device environments, aiding in the testing and debugging process without the need for a physical device collection. Android Studio's built-in emulator and third-party options like Genymotion or Bluestacks indeed provide a wide range of choices for developers based on their specific needs and preferences.

Testing a new feature on an emulator is the first and easiest step in quality control before testing it on real devices. Running a specific version of Android on an emulator is easy. However, emulators have some disadvantages: they can be slow and buggy.

Testing on emulator is the foremost and best way ,specially in the case of older Android version . But some time there are some limitations and result can deviate on real devices .

BrowserStack rocks and provides excellent results, but sometimes it's not enough. You need the real device in your hands to figure out what the hell is going on :)

When picking a real device testing platform, look for these features. (1) devices running different versions of OSs so you can test on the important OSs even on a single device. (2) geolocated devices so you can test for performance across geographies. (3) Devices connected to wireless operator outside the US in major European and Asian countries. Your app compatibility will vary depending on OS version, geography, and wireless operator.

Testing on real devices is crucial for a comprehensive evaluation of your app's performance. Real devices provide authentic insights into how your app behaves in diverse conditions, ensuring compatibility with specific hardware and older Android versions. Utilizing services like Firebase Test Lab, AWS Device Farm, or BrowserStack facilitates access to a wide array of devices for thorough testing, enhancing the reliability and user experience of your application.

In the world of Android development, the more real devices you have to test, the better. When you have a budget to buy devices, you should prioritize the models that are most popular among your users. You can always view such statistics in the Google Play console.

There are some cases which is impossible for emulator like testing something with camera, calling or usally that things that requires heardware sensor, so for that you have to test on real device. Real device can be smoother than android emulator.

Backward compatibility is essential for ensuring your app functions seamlessly across a wide range of Android versions. AndroidX, among other backward compatibility libraries, offers a valuable solution by providing alternative implementations for newer features on older Android versions. Incorporating these libraries into your project dependencies and importing them in your code enables your app to gracefully handle differences in functionality, enhancing its stability and compatibility across various Android OS versions.

Over the past years, Google has done a good job of adding backwards compatible libraries for popular Android features. When using such libraries, you should take into account the size that is added to the apk/aar file. This is usually not a problem, but some projects may have strict size restrictions.

Ensure Compatibility: Use these libraries to make sure your app works on older devices and software versions. Reach a Wider Audience: By supporting older systems, you can reach more users. Maintain Consistency: Create a consistent experience across different devices and Android versions. Access New Features Safely: Implement modern features while still supporting older devices with the help of compatibility libraries. Enhance User Satisfaction: Users appreciate apps that work smoothly on their devices, regardless of age or model.

When using Flutter for mobile applications, we usually target mobile phones with Android 4.4 or above. So, the minimum android sdk is 19. But Play Store only allows minimum sdk version 20. Therefore, we have to upgrade our app's android sdk version before publishing to Play Store. we also keep our app's lower sdk version so that we can deliver our app to users when needed.

Conditional code based on the device's Android version is a powerful technique for managing feature compatibility. By using constructs like `Build.VERSION.SDK_INT`, you can dynamically adjust your app's behavior depending on the API level. This allows you to gracefully handle varying capabilities across different Android versions, ensuring that your app remains functional and provides a consistent experience for users, regardless of the device's software version.

Adding Android version checking to your codebase is easy. However, to reduce the verbosity of the code, it is better to extract such checks into separate functions and reuse them.

Maintaining a separate code base for newer and lower versions of Android is recommended way to avoid any crash. But some time its get large code base to write separate functionality .

it is also an option but this can cause problems for developer like maintaing codebases for newer and older version and it will give bad impact to users that some features are disable on their device

Lint is a useful tool, but when you work in a large team, you need to automate these link checks. There are two popular ways to do this automation: locally through pre-commit hooks and remotely during CI/CD pipelines. You can also automate the code review process to display lint errors caused by new code on the pull request page.

Lint is a valuable tool in the Android development arsenal. It performs static code analysis, helping developers catch potential issues early in the development process. Lint checks cover a range of aspects, from API compatibility to coding conventions, enhancing the overall quality of the codebase. Whether running lint checks directly from Android Studio or through Gradle on the command line, integrating lint into your development workflow ensures a more robust and reliable app, especially when dealing with compatibility concerns across different Android versions.

Lint identifies errors, bugs, and performance issues in your code. It helps spot problems that might arise on older Android versions. It also warns about using APIs not available on the app's minimum supported version and flags missing attributes or resources necessary for older devices. You can run lint checks conveniently from Android Studio or via Gradle from the command line.

Beta testing is a crucial step in ensuring your app is well-received by a diverse user base. Platforms like Google Play's beta testing program or third-party services such as TestFlight, HockeyApp, or Beta by Crashlytics offer convenient ways to distribute your app to a selected group of testers. Gathering feedback from users with older Android devices helps identify and address potential issues, ensuring improved quality and compatibility. This proactive approach enhances the overall user experience and sets the stage for a smoother public release.

Having a code that runs on every version in the world is all well and good, but it's a lot more expensive to build and maintain than a code that runs on 90% of devices and 100% of your marketing target. You need to assess the requirements in terms of Android versions at the start of the project, and make sure that these constraints make real commercial sense. Too many technical teams can lose sight of what's really necessary for the company when they get bogged down in a form of technological aesthetics.

You should always try to keep your app libraries and SDK to stable version so that you don't have to worry about legacy code .

It is not always meaningful, or even cost efficient, to keep your code running on every possible Android version. In my experience, keeping the code up to date with the newest versions and supporting the most popular older versions, is the best of both worlds. AndroidStudio has a feature where one can check the distribution of Android versions - this can help with making a decision, when to drop support for an older version.