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Google is introducing a new solution for older Android versions—the Extension Software Developer Kit. This will enable developers to access features of newer Android versions on older versions of Android—including Android 11 and 12. This move is a part of Google’s effort to bring new features to devices that have not received OS updates in the last few years. 

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

As first reported by The Verge, Google’s Extension SDK, which enables developers to access features of newer Android versions on older ones, also sets the stage 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.

Additionally, without having to release major OS upgrades, the company will be able to update Privacy Sandbox on older Android versions thanks to Google’s Extension SDK. Google claims that this approach enables faster product deployment.

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

But for end users, the crux of the matter is—users still using older versions of Android, and the ones who are not interested in upgrading to a new phone, with a newer software version—will more easily get access to essential updates, directly through the Google Play Store. And as per The Verge, previously, this system has already been implemented for updating systems like media playback, Wi-Fi, permissions and the Android Runtime.

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