Target API level

Google Play requires every new app and every app update to target a recent Android API level, set by targetSdkVersion in your build configuration, and the requirement moves every year.

For submissions from 31 August 2026, that level is Android 16, API 36. Anything below it is refused at upload rather than flagged in review, so a release that has been fine for a year stops working with no code change on your side.

Form factors run behind. Wear OS and Android Automotive OS apps are held to Android 15, API 35, and Android TV and Android XR apps to Android 14, API 34.

Existing published apps face a separate rule. To stay available to new users on devices running newer Android versions, an app needs to target at least API 35. Below that it remains installable, but only on devices at or below its own target level, so the reach quietly shrinks rather than the app disappearing.

If you need longer, Google offers an extension to 1 November 2026, requested through a form in Play Console. It is a delay, not an exemption.

Permanently private apps distributed only inside an organisation are outside the requirement.

Raising targetSdkVersion opts you into that version's behaviour changes, so this is a testing job rather than a one-line edit. Treat the August date as the deadline for shipping the tested bump, not for starting it.

See also: AAB, Play Console, Data safety.