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I think the minimum now for Playstore connection / App downloads is Android 5.x.
The 4.0 went over a year ago. The 4.4 or something like early this year.
Android 12 is still common on new devices (October 2021)
Few devices ship with later than Android 13 (14 is October 2023).
Some financial apps don't work on Android 8 (common on ereaders) but do on Android 10 (2019).
At least one Android 10 phone I have got a security update not long ago.
Libby is working currently on Android 8.0
Borrowbox works on an older Android 8.0 tablet, but stopped working a year ago on same Android 8.0 on a Boyue eink (though Libby, Playbooks etc work).
Many phones and tablets get Android security updates and vendor updates, but Android version updates are rare.
The Android eink ereaders tend to be more awkward, slower and worse battery run time than dedicated ereaders and far less compatible than LCD/OLED tablets and phones with Android. Even some apps that install and run are useless on Android eink because of 100x slower screen refresh and greater latency. You can use Gboard handwriting recognition on maybe Android 7 (text edit in free Jota), but it's unusable on eink.
I've a Hauwei Android 5.x phone that's very usable with Playstore and has x3 battery life of the Android 8 phone.
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