23 articles tagged
Two hard numbers now decide whether an Android team can ship: API level 36 on Google Play from 31 August 2026, and Android Gradle plugin 9.1.1 for the August 2026 Compose release. Here is how to hire against them.
From 31 August 2026 every new app and app update on Google Play must target Android 16 (API level 36), and existing apps need API 35 just to stay visible to new users. That deadline is 13 days out. Here is how it
The honest 2026 comparison: what a PWA saves you in store fees and target-SDK deadlines, and the four iOS capability gaps that decide the question for consumer products.
Four platform mandates landed on hybrid apps between April 2026 and November 2026. Choosing a hybrid app development company in 2026 is a maintenance-cadence decision, not a cost decision.
React Native 0.82 removed the legacy bridge entirely, and 0.87 raised the toolchain floor to AGP 9 and Kotlin 2.0. Here is how to evaluate a React Native app development company against that.
Google Play announced the changes on 15 July 2026 and set a single compliance date of 26 August. Anonymous and random chat apps must block minors, self-certify five child-safety standards, and stop targeting children
Google announced a Play Policy Insights skill in the 15 July 2026 policy update, an open-source SKILL.md that grounds a coding agent in Play policy. It shares a name with an older Android Studio lint feature, and
Google made GMA Next-Gen SDK the preferred Android SDK on 6 July 2026 and put the legacy SDK on a clock to June 2028. The real API changes, the mediation restriction nobody mentions, and why iOS has nothing to migrate.
From 31 August 2026 Google Play rejects new releases built on Billing Library 7. The full removed-API list, the Kotlin changes each one forces, why PBL 9.1.0 is often the better target, and how the extension works.
Google's requirement list for Gemini Intelligence names 12GB+ RAM, a qualified flagship SoC and Nano v3 or greater. Gemini Nano runs on 140 million devices. How to detect, tier and route around the gap.
How to integrate Google Play's Age Signals API in Android: the SDK setup, the checkAgeSignals flow, userStatus values, error handling, and what US and Indian age-assurance laws now require of app teams.
Visa Payment Passkey is live in India and the RBI's authentication directions took effect on 1 April 2026. A build guide for adding FIDO2 passkeys to iOS and Android apps, with the SMS OTP decision made plain.
A senior Android engineer's guide to making your app agent-ready in 2026: how AppFunctions and App Actions expose your features to Gemini, with Kotlin code, DPDP notes, and a rollout checklist.
From July 22, 2026, Google's Play Catalog Access Program lets rival US app stores carry your listings, while downloads and Play's fee still route through Google. Here is what the opt-out means for publishers.
Google Play stops allowing READ_CALL_LOG for account verification 30 days after July 15, 2026. This guide moves phone login to the Digital Credentials API or SMS Retriever, with code and a decision table.
On 16 July 2026 the European Commission ordered Google to give rival AI assistants the same access to 11 Android features that Gemini enjoys, shipping in Android 18 by 1 August 2027. Here is the timeline
From 30 September 2026, unregistered Android apps stop installing in four countries across seven app stores. Here is what to check, what a D-U-N-S number costs you in lead time, and how to automate registration in CI.
Google published its 15 July 2026 policy announcement with a 30-day compliance clock. The clarification that matters most is one sentence long: your third-party AI integrations are now explicitly covered by the User
Forced platform migrations are not a reason to rewrite an app. Five tests that separate the apps worth rebuilding from the ones that need targeted work, with the 2026 store deadlines that trigger the decision.
On June 30, 2026 Google Play split its service fee from a new billing fee: 10% on your first $1M, a 5% billing fee in the US, UK and EEA, and India follows in 2027. Here is what your app actually pays.
Nobody can quote you an annual app maintenance figure without asking two questions first. Apple and Google set a mandatory floor of work every year, whether or not you ship a single new feature.
Flutter 3.44 shipped in May 2026 with Dart 3.12, and stable is now 3.44.6. SwiftPM is the default on iOS, Material is frozen, and Android moves to AGP 9. Here is the upgrade order that keeps you shipping.
Swift 6.3 arrived on March 24, 2026 with the first official Swift SDK for Android. This guide covers how Swift runs on Android, the swift-java bridge, the shared-core architecture, and how it compares with Kotlin
