Can the Play Store offer to download a previous version of an app if it's not supported in the device's Android version? (like iOS does)

Question

I want to publish a new version of my app that requires Android 4.4. I know I can do this adding the following to the manifest:

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="19"/>

(19 is the SDK version for Android 4.4 according to this)

But I'd also want people with Android versions older than 4.4 to be able to download an older version of my app. How can I accomplish that, if at all possible? I know iOS does that automatically: If someone has an older iOS version than the required for an app, then an older compatible version of the app id downloaded instead. Does the Google Play Store have a similar "backwards-compatibility" feature?

Answer 1

A Google Play release can contain multiple app bundles! When you prepare a release, apart from adding the new fresh and shiny app bundle (for the newer devices), also add the legacy app bundle from the app bundle library (for the older devices).

You can then verify which versions are active/inactive in app bundle explorer (click the version dropdown).

Google Play will manage which version to offer on which device on its own (prioritizing the ones with higher version codes, in case multiple are supported).