As an Android developer, I often see confusion between API Level and Platform Version in the Android SDK. They are closely related, but they are not the same thing. Let me explain this clearly.
API Level
The API Level is an integer number that uniquely identifies the version of the Android framework your app can interact with.
When you build an app, you reference API Levels in your Gradle configuration:
minSdkVersion → The lowest API Level your app will support. If you set this to 30, your app cannot be installed on devices running below Android 11.
targetSdkVersion → The API Level you have tested your app against. It tells Android that you have verified your app works correctly on that version and helps the system apply compatibility behavior when running on newer versions.
compileSdkVersion → The API Level used to compile your app. This must be set high enough to include the Android features and APIs you want to use during development.
In short: the API Level is what developers use to ensure backward compatibility and to decide which Android features can be safely used.
Platform Version
The Platform Version is the user-facing release of Android. This is what end users see on their devices: Android 15, Android 14, Android 13, and so on.
Each platform version corresponds to exactly one API Level. For example:
Android 15 → API Level 35
Android 14 → API Level 34
Android 13 → API Level 33
Android 12 → API Level 31 and 32 (two updates under the same version family)
Android 11 → API Level 30
While users know their phones by platform versions (e.g., “I’m on Android 14”), developers need the API Level because that determines what programming interfaces are available in the SDK.
The Key Difference
To put it simply:
Platform Version is the marketing name and version number that people recognize (Android 15, Android 14, etc.).
API Level is the technical identifier that developers use to target specific features of the framework (35, 34, etc.).
Without using API Levels, it would be difficult to handle compatibility across so many different Android versions. That is why every Gradle configuration explicitly defines minSdkVersion, targetSdkVersion, and compileSdkVersion.
Why This Matters
Understanding the difference is important when building Android or Flutter apps. For example:
If your minSdkVersion is too high, you exclude many devices.
If your targetSdkVersion is too low, the system may run your app in a compatibility mode instead of letting it behave like a modern app.
If your compileSdkVersion is too old, you cannot access new Android APIs, even if your users are running newer versions.
By properly managing these settings, you ensure that your app runs on as many devices as possible, while still taking advantage of the latest Android features.
My reference :-
So the distinction is simple but very important:
Platform Version = the Android release name/number that users see.
API Level = the integer that developers rely on to target and compile against.
If you work with Flutter or encounter Android build errors often, I’ve documented many real-world debugging techniques and solutions here:
👉 https://www.devsecopsnow.com/?s=flutter
