Web view compatibility in android 4.x and android 5.0

[Santosh]

In my android application I am planning to use the WebView of Android 4.x (API level 19) and I heard that in Android 5.0 (API level 21), there is a plan to release a new web view. So my question is

1. What happen if my application run on the device which is having android 5.0 version?
2. What are the things I need to take care while creating my app?
3. Does Kendo UI or app builder consider/support this above scenarios?

Thanks in advance.
~Santosh.

[Santosh]

Hi,

Let me simplify my question:
if I develop an app for android 5.0 (Web view- version 37.0.0.0) and publish it. Now suppose someone is using my app in his device (android 5.0 + web view - 37.0.0.0), and after sometime, if he updates his web view from 37 to some higher version. What happen to my app?
1. Will it behave normally?
2. Shall I need to test my app against each web view versions (once it is published)?
3. Is there any way to restrict/notify the user to use the web view version 37?
4. is there any way to set target web view version in my app?

Thanks in advance.
~Santosh.

[Santosh]

Hi,

Let me simplify my question:
If I develop an app for android 5.0 (Web view- version 37.0.0.0) and publish it. Now suppose someone is using my app in his device (android 5.0 + web view - 37.0.0.0), and after sometime, if he updates his web view from 37 to some higher version. What happen to my app?
1. Will it behave normally?
2. Shall I need to test my app against each web view versions (once it is published)?
3. Is there any way to restrict/notify the user to use the web view version 37?
4. is there any way to set target web view version in my app?

Thanks in advance.
~Santosh.

[Kaloyan]

Hi Santosh,

Basically, updatable WebView is the same as updatable desktop browsers for example. No one can guarantee that everything will work as expected on the new versions, but still, a lot of testing is done before the official releases. In AppBuilder hybrid development is the same, with the difference that, testing is being done not only from the WebView team, but from our side as well.

The above said, I will now try to answer your questions:

1. "Will it behave normally?
   
   It will behave normally and as expected. However, there is a possibility of issues to occur, as not everything can be tested.
2. Shall I need to test my app against each web view versions (once it is published)?
   
   This is up to you. It is the same as, if you need to test your hybrid application on each of the available Android versions.
3. Is there any way to restrict/notify the user to use the web view version 37?
   
   There are a lot of ways to do this. For example, you can put this as a requirement in the Play Store, or fire an alert on startup of the application. I am not sure if I clearly understand this question, so please, let me know if I am missing something.
4. is there any way to set target web view version in my app?
   
   At this stage, I am not aware of such possibility. However, the Android 5 is still new and the good stuff for it is about to be developed.
   

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Kaloyan
Telerik

 

 

[Rob Lauer]

Hi Santosh,

Just as a quick follow up, you can actually specify the target Android SDK level in the AppBuilder clients.  You simply have to open your Android Manifest:

http://docs.telerik.com/platform/appbuilder/configuring-your-project/edit-configuration

...and you'll probably have a line that looks like:  <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8" />

...which you can change to: <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8" android:targetSdkVersion="21" />

Regards,
Rob Lauer
Telerik

 

 

[Peter]

Evergreen browsers (like Chrome and Firefox) auto-update and keep their users up to date so they
can view the web through a modern feature set. As a developer, this ensures your choices aren't
limited to a lowest-common denominator browser from years ago, but rather are keeping pace with the
modern web. Your apps inside a WebView are just as important and deserve a runtime that keeps users
up to date. There are large engineering and logistical challenges. We're not quite there yet, but
we're working on it.
http://yourdesignguys.com/