Evolution

The update of Android OS constantly brings users various new features and enhances system security. On the other hand, the system and API modifications with the update may introduce the app compatibility issue. The app's SDK version may not align with the Android OS version, making apps not work adequately. This condition will inevitably damage the Android ecosystem. Thus, while developing Android OS, Google considered and deployed compatibility support. The software engineering research community also noticed the Android compatibility issue and conducted some investigations.