Quote:
Originally Posted by ottischwenk
Apps that now work on Android 6 will continue to work on Android 6.
And if an update of this app requires a higher Android version, then an update will not be possible - this app will still work in the last version.
It is a mistake to believe that a new version is always better.
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Indeed!
This is borne out by formerly free Android apps which in recent versions became subject to regular rental fees, for example. A number of software developers are moving to this model, yes even for Android apps. So sometimes it is better (at least financially) to run the older, deprecated version.
Two relevant examples: Kingsoft Office and iA Writer. Both very useful apps which used to be free on Android. Okay iA Writer is only 30 bucks, so if you want ("need") the latest version, no big deal. If you want the full functionality of WPS Office (formerly Kingsoft) without annoying ads it's 30 bucks a year for the "Premium" version. Again, not expensive but it demonstrates the trend trailblazed by the likes of Adobe. Even those developers that were used to charging Apple or Windows users a healthy fee, used to think they could not charge for Android apps. That's now changed.
Developers of proprietary software are of course free to charge what they feel the market can withstand, I have no problem with this. For these two apps (and perhaps a number of others) older versions are perfectly usable and free if you can find an apk. They may or may not work properly on Android 9 - I don't know as I only have one device running 9 and have not tried the older versions on it. I suspect there may be some issues though.