Technically, Android does that, too, but the limit on that is a few years. If I'm not mistaken, the lowest version of Android that Google will allow a user to install through the Play Store is Android 12 (released in September 2020).

[–] TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

No. The oldest API allowed is from Android 6 Marshmellow, not Android 12.

[–] Gestrid@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That's for manually installing apps, I believe. But developers on Google Play have to follow this.

[–] TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Also F-Droid and any third party app stores. Only Google Play enforces Android 12 API for new app update guidelines for developers.

[–] Gestrid@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but 99% (give or take) of Android users won't know or care how to install 3rd party apps. So most people would only care about the Google Play Store limitation.

[–] TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 months ago

The limitation is overcome the moment someone downloads and installs APK from web browser or some store. It is artificial, and for nerds that want to install apps older than those for Android 6, they can toggle that flag with ADB.

Apple on the other hand renders phones outside of its update cycle as junk devices, even if capable.