I'm dabbling in Xamarin-based apps. I want to test my stuff on real iOS, Android and Windows devices.
(I'll use the emulators and "test cloud", but I also want to test physically. Just one device for each platform, don't care about resolution, etc.)
As of this year - 2016 - what is the minimum version I should target for each OS when I'm buying these three devices?
I won't buy the latest and greatest of each, so my fear is that I'll buy devices which are outdated. I just want old/cheap devices for my test bed, but they must be new enough to work with Xamarin.
Most of my clients want their mobile apps to support current and two prior major versions of OS, e.g. at the moment iOS 9, 8, 7 and support Android 6, 5, 4(.1.1). Using Xamarin for about two years now have had no problems in achieving this. I keep a 2012 Motorola Droid Razr HD running Android 4.1.1, a 2013 Nexus 7 running Android 6, an iPad 2, an iPhone 6, an iPod Touch. Less variation in capabilities and behaviors on the Apple side makes things easier there. Your idea of having a small group of devices has served me well.