A key part of what Pugpig Bolt gives you is the freedom to not have to worry about the changes, shifts and deadlines that come from the underlying platforms. One such change has come about in a policy requirement from Google that apps on the Play Store must be built against a recent version of their underlying technology (referred to by them as API levels). 

This is common practice, and happens every year with both iOS and Android, usually with relatively little impact on the actual design and behaviour of the app. However, the newly-mandatory Android API level does introduce some changes in how apps are displayed. These changes are all quite small, and don't require any rethinking or redesigning on your part. We've adopted them as guided by Android, and they should match other non-Pugpig apps as they too adopt these requirements.

The important thing to note is the deadline. From the 1st September 2025 all app submissions and updates must be on a version targeting API level 36. This does not affect the versions of your apps already live in the store they will continue to be available, look and function exactly as they are now, it's simply a requirement for new submissions after this date.

We have completed, tested and released a compliant version, so there is nothing you need to do or worry about. You may see warning in the Play Console, these will disappear following your next submission.

What does this mean?

API 35 introduced edge-to-edge, and API 36 makes usage of it mandatory. For more information on edge-to-edge see Google's edge-to-edge design doc. As the name implies, this makes everything take full advantage of the device's screen, resulting in a more immersive and consistent experience. 

There are design considerations around device ‘cutouts’ (including but not limited to the camera holes), of which there are a wide variety of placements and sizes across Android devices. There are also design considerations around the 3-button nav (optional in Android 10+) system bar.

Summary of changes

• The tab bar now extends further down, to the bottom of the screen
• The system taskbar has a background colour, matching the app's theming (including in landscape on all device types)
• The toolbar, or status bar if no toolbar, extends higher, to the top of the screen
• Image gallery modals are now full-bleed and in “immersive mode”, this means status and system bars are now initially hidden but can be edge-swiped to appear
• The system taskbar and/or handle theming on some screens may have changed slightly, but should be a sensible system-chosen contrasting colour
• Status bar colour detection has been improved to ensure dark text against a light background colour or vice-versa, for some in-the-middle theming choices this may be a noticeable change but all text should be legible against the background
• Fade present on native auth modals (including voucher auth) when vertically scrolled (as content there will overlap the status bar)

What you need to do

Nothing! These changes are included by default in all versions of Bolt Android from 4.8.0 onwards. As mentioned, you'll need to adopt this to be able to submit to the store from September 2025 onwards.