Apps must target newer versions of Android to run on Android 15.
Android has a big, big problem with platform segmentation, which is exacerbated by some apps. Some app developers don’t care that much about targeting newer versions of Android, or at least not right away, thinking it’s not a priority for them. The problem is made worse by the fact that there are many apps in use today that still target old versions of Android, and Google is doing little or nothing to prevent this. Now, with Android 15, Google is going to tighten things up for developers.
As noted by Mishaal Rahman on our sister site Android police, Google is tightening things up when it comes to the apps that the operating system allows to be installed. Specifically, Android 15 does not allow users to install apps that target an SDK lower than SDK 24. SDK 24 corresponds to Android 7.0 Nougat, which means that apps that target Android 6.0 Marshmallow or earlier cannot be installed on Android 15. It is still possible force install apps that target a lower version of Android using ADB commands, but by default the operating system will not allow these apps to be installed or sideloaded in any way.
This follows a trend started by Android 14. The current version of Google’s operating system blocks the installation of apps that target SDK 22 (Android 5.1 Lollipop) or earlier. Following that logic, then Android 16 should block apps targeting Android 7.0 next year, and Android 17 should block apps targeting Android 8.0 in 2026. It’s important to note here that goal An SDK is not the same as a minimal SDK. An app can target Android 15 but still run on much older versions of Android if the minimum SDK allows. Google here is hunting apps that target older versions of Android and not bothering to target newer ones—either because they want to avoid new system limitations/requirements on newer versions of Android, or because they just aren’t updated as often/thoroughly as they should be.
Unless Google gets rid of it before the final version of Android 15 is released, which is unlikely, then you’ll have to say goodbye to apps from the Android Marshmallow era. And if you’re a developer, do your best for your users and update your apps.
Source: Android Police