Android Extensions: Extending the managed APIs while keeping the same API level version

Finally, a whopping two-and-a-half months after the release of Android 7.0 Nougat, the Android 7.0 Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) has been published. The CDD is Google’s list of rules for Android OEMs that want to ship devices with the Google Play Store and other Google apps. While Android is open source, most of Google’s apps are not, and licensing Google’s apps means agreeing to a contract called the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) and passing Google’s “compatibility” tests, which ensure the device can properly run Android apps.

The updates to the 85-page Compatibility Definition Document are mostly about codifying the new 7.0 features so OEMs don’t break anything, but there are a few interesting tidbits. The one we’re going to focus on now is the mysterious mention of “Android Extensions.”