Apps that still work on Android 8, 9 and 10
An Android phone from 2018 is perfectly usable hardware. What ages it is app compatibility: developers raise the minimum SDK, the Play Store stops offering updates, and eventually stops offering the app at all. There are two answers, and you will probably use both.
Apps that still support older releases
These have kept a low minimum version, usually because their users are on exactly this hardware.
Keeps its own rendering engine, so it stays current on the web even when the system WebView is frozen at an old version. This is the single most valuable app on an old phone.
Runs on very old releases and compresses pages, which matters on hardware that is slow as well as old.
Supports a notably wide range of Android versions and stays fully featured on all of them.
Plays modern formats on old hardware, where the built-in player has long since given up.
Small, fast, and runs on releases most modern file managers have dropped.
Still ships builds that run on old versions, with codec packs matched to old CPUs.
Has supported very old Android releases for years and still opens every common archive format.
An open source podcast app that has kept a low minimum version longer than most.
K-9 Mail. A long-standing email client that historically ran on old phones; check the minimum on the version list before installing.
Plain text notes with a low system requirement and no account.
A password database in a file you own, maintained with older devices in mind.
A small SSH client that has run on almost every Android release there has been.
Finding an older build of an app you need
When the current release will not install, an earlier one usually will. The version history on any APKCombo app page lists the Android requirement for each build.
- Note your Android version Settings, About phone. You need the number, not the manufacturer's marketing name.
- Open the app's old versions list Scan down for the newest build whose requirement is at or below your version.
- Prefer the newest that fits Older is not safer. Take the most recent build that will actually run.
- Turn off auto-update for it Otherwise Play reinstalls the incompatible build and you are back where you started.
- Media players, file managers, readers
- Offline tools and calculators
- Games with local progress
- Browsers with their own engine
- Banking and payment apps
- Anything with a server that enforces a minimum client
- Apps that depend on recent Play Services
- Messaging apps after a protocol change
What you should not keep doing
An old phone is fine for media, reading, messaging and navigation. It is a poor place for banking, payments and anything holding data you cannot afford to lose, because the phone stopped receiving security patches years before the apps stopped supporting it.
A reasonable arrangement is to keep the old phone for the things that do not need to be secure and move the sensitive accounts to a newer device, rather than trying to keep everything running on hardware that no longer receives fixes.
Install a browser with its own engine, use version history when the current build refuses, and keep the sensitive accounts on newer hardware.
Frequently asked questions
Can I update Android on an old phone?
Only if the manufacturer released an update, which for older models they have not. Custom ROMs are an option for some devices and a project rather than a fix.
Why did an app disappear from the Play Store on my phone?
The Play Store hides apps whose minimum version is above yours. The app still exists, it is simply filtered out for your device.
Is it safe to keep using an unpatched phone?
For low-risk use, yes, with care about what you install and where you sign in. Not for banking or for anything with access to money.
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