Notes

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Field notes, long-form articles, manuals, and decision records — written while building, kept current or explicitly marked stale.

Article

Android 8.0 Oreo: limits on background work

API 26, August 2017. Background services and implicit broadcasts were fenced in, every notification needed a channel, and Project Treble split Android from the vendor code.

Oct 202615 min read4 partsPart 8 of 19 · Android, version by version

Article

Android 9 Pie: idle apps lose camera and mic

API 28, August 2018. Idle apps lost the camera, mic and sensors, cleartext HTTP became opt-in, hidden APIs started to fail, and a pill replaced the home button.

Oct 202616 min read5 partsPart 10 of 19 · Android, version by version

Article

Android 10: scoped storage, no dessert

API 29, September 2019. The first release named only by its number. Scoped storage, a separate background location permission, gesture navigation and a system-wide dark theme.

Oct 202618 min read6 partsPart 11 of 19 · Android, version by version

Article

Android 11: one-time grants, scoped storage

API 30, September 2020. Camera, microphone and location got "Only this time", unused apps lost their permissions, and apps targeting 30 could no longer opt out of scoped storage.

Oct 202619 min read7 partsPart 12 of 19 · Android, version by version

Article

Android 12: Material You, privacy dashboard

API 31, October 2021. The wallpaper colored the system, a dashboard showed who used location, camera and mic, and apps targeting 31 had to set exported and PendingIntent flags.

Oct 202621 min read8 partsPart 13 of 19 · Android, version by version

Article

Android 13: notification and media permissions

API 33, August 2022. Notifications became a runtime permission, READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE split into three media permissions, and a system photo picker needs no permission at all.

Oct 202616 min read6 partsPart 15 of 19 · Android, version by version

Article

Android 14: typed services, selected photos

API 34, October 2023. Apps targeting below 23 stopped installing, users could share only the photos they picked, and every foreground service needed a declared type.

Oct 202618 min read7 partsPart 16 of 19 · Android, version by version

Article

Android 15: edge-to-edge, private space

API 35, October 2024. Apps targeting 35 draw edge-to-edge, dataSync services get six hours a day, private space hides apps behind a lock, and native code must handle 16 KB pages.

Oct 202619 min read6 partsPart 17 of 19 · Android, version by version