Android development, minimum SDK 26.

min SDK 26 (Android 8.0) is our default for 2026 builds. It covers 94.1 percent of the active install base according to recent Play Store dashboards and unlocks the APIs that most modern Android apps need: notification channels, adaptive icons, background execution limits, autofill, and a clean Kotlin runtime. Going lower to 24 adds only 3 percentage points of coverage at the cost of legacy compatibility work. Going higher to 31 gains Material You dynamic color but loses 22 percent of users. For brands with a specific Material You visual identity requirement, min SDK 31 is worth the trade-off; for everyone else, 26 is the sensible floor.

US and UK senior Android engineers are $145 to $200 per hour; Indian senior Android engineers are $90 to $135 per hour. A Kotlin + Jetpack Compose MVP with 15 to 25 screens, auth, push, and Play Store submission runs 10 to 16 weeks. A full production build with Material 3 dynamic color, Play Billing, WorkManager background work, Baseline Profiles, and ABI split runs 14 to 22 weeks. A shared Kotlin Multiplatform build targeting Android phone + tablet + foldable + Wear OS runs 16 to 26 weeks. A 2-week audit is refundable. Scoped quote in 48 hours.

Jetpack Compose for new builds, always. Compose has reached full production maturity in 2026 and is the stated future of Android UI. The declarative model, Kotlin-native code, preview tooling, and tight Material 3 integration outweigh the small migration cost for teams new to Compose. XML layouts remain acceptable for ongoing maintenance of existing XML-based codebases and for specific edge cases (complex custom ViewGroups, some third-party libraries). For a new Android app in 2026, starting in Compose is the default.

Key requirements for 2026 submissions: target API level must be no more than 1 year behind latest (target SDK 34 or 35 in 2026), Data Safety form completed and accurate, privacy policy URL provided, account deletion flow required for any app with account creation, Play Integrity API for apps handling sensitive actions, per-app language settings supported, Predictive Back gesture respected. Medical, financial, and children's apps have additional specific policies we pre-check. We run a policy pre-check before every submission.

Play Billing Library version 7+ for all new builds. We implement subscriptions, non-consumable and consumable purchases, introductory pricing, promo codes, and family-shared subscription entitlements. Backend verification uses Real-Time Developer Notifications (RTDN) via Google Cloud Pub/Sub for subscription lifecycle events. For brands shipping Apple + Google Play + web, we abstract the purchase layer so the subscription logic stays platform-agnostic. Refund handling and grace period logic are implemented to Play policy requirements.

Yes. For tablets and foldables, we use WindowSizeClass to drive adaptive layouts (compact, medium, expanded) from the same Compose code. Foldable-specific features like hinge-aware layouts and outer-inner screen continuation are supported via Jetpack WindowManager. For Wear OS, we build companion apps with Compose for Wear OS, Tiles, Complications, and Watch Face Studio integrations where relevant. We scope Wear OS as an add-on to a phone build when the brand's use case benefits from wrist-first interactions.

Baseline Profiles are the biggest win. They precompile hot paths ahead of first launch, reducing cold-start time by 20 to 40 percent on mid-tier Android. We generate Baseline Profiles from Macrobenchmark tests, ship them as part of the release, and verify their impact in Play Console vitals. Beyond that: R8 full mode for minification, APK split by ABI to reduce per-device download size, App Bundle delivery through Play Asset Delivery for large assets, and WorkManager for deferrable background work that respects Doze and App Standby.

You do. Google Play Developer Console account ($25 one-time) under your legal entity. App signing key enrolled in Play App Signing (Google manages the upload key with a backup in your keystore). GitHub repository under your organization from day one. Play Console access under your control with DH engineers as named collaborators, removable any time. On exit: credentials rotated, repository transferred, CI configuration documented, 30-day support tail. No lock-in through signing, tooling, or vendor choice.