We are happy to announce that we have just released Cordova Android 14.0.0! This is one of Cordova's supported platforms for building Android applications.
To upgrade:
cordova platform remove android cordova platform add android@14.0.0
To install:
cordova platform add android@14.0.0
Increased Target SDK
This release has increased the target SDK to 35 (Android 15).
Project Dependencies
The following Gradle dependencies were bumpped:
8.138.7.3Additionally, the following libraries have been upgraded:
1.7.01.12.11.0.14.4.2If you or a plugin has made changes to any of the following configuration preferences, the build results might not match the expected outcomes with this release:
| Preference | Default Value |
|---|---|
android-minSdkVersion | 24 |
android-maxSdkVersion | Not set |
android-targetSdkVersion | 35 |
android-compileSdkVersion | android-targetSdkVersion configured value |
android-buildToolsVersion | 35.0.0 |
GradleVersion | 8.13 |
AndroidGradlePluginVersion | 8.7.3 |
GradlePluginKotlinVersion | 1.9.24 |
AndroidXAppCompatVersion | 1.7.0 |
AndroidXWebKitVersion | 1.12.1 |
GradlePluginGoogleServicesVersion | 4.4.2 |
Please take note of the versions that have been updated in this release. If you have manually modified any of these values, it is recommended to review and update the preference values accordingly.
Increased Android Studio Requirement
With the increase of Android Gradle Plugin, Android Studio Ladybug is the minimum required version for building and running projects in Android Studio. This aligns with the Android Gradle plugin and Android Studio compatibility documentation.
Required Build Tools
To use cordova-android@14.0.0, SDK Platform 35 and SDK Build Tools 35.0.0 must be installed. Older build tools version can be uninstalled if older versions of cordova-android is no longer used in any of your projects.
Upgrade with Command-line tools:
The recommended way to install SDK Platform 35 and SDK Build Tools 35.0.0 is by using sdkmanager, which is part of Android's Command-line tools package. The command-line tools is useful as it does not require Android Studio.
At the time of writing, version 19 of the Command-line tools was downloaded from Android Studio's SDK Manager and used. It can also be downloaded from the Android Developers website.
sdkmanager 'build-tools;35.0.0' 'platforms;android-35'
You may need to run the update flag first:
sdkmanager --update
Upgrade with Android Studio:
To install SDK Platform 35:
SDK Platforms tabAndroid 15.0 ("VanillaIceCream") which has the API Level of 35ApplyTo install SDK Build Tools 35.0.0:
SDK Tools tabShow Package DetailsAndroid SDK Build-Tools35.0.0ApplyIncreased Java Source & Target Compatibility
The Java Source & Target Compatibility has been increased to version 11. This aligns with the default settings used when creating a blank native project.
Increased Node.js Engine Requirement
The Node.js engine requirement in this release has been increased to version 20.5.0 or later.
Deprecated CordovaPlugin's initialize Method
The initialize method of the CordovaPlugin class has been marked as deprecated and will be removed in a future release. While this method was always considered deprecated, it was not properly annotated to notify plugin developers.
We recommend using the pluginInitialize method as a replacement for initialize.
Replaced Library kotlin-stdlib-jdk* with kotlin-stdlib
The kotlin-stdlib-jdk* libraries have been replaced with kotlin-stdlib. Both kotlin-stdlib-jdk7 and kotlin-stdlib-jdk8 are merged into kotlin-stdlib.
Added AndroidEdgeToEdge Preference Support
By default, Android 15 enforces the Edge-to-Edge feature, which may affect some Apache Cordova apps.
In this major release, Apache Cordova has opted out of the Edge-to-Edge feature to retain the original behavior and allow app developers ample time to make the necessary adjustments to support Edge-to-Edge.
Users can re-enable the Edge-to-Edge feature using this new preference flag.
It is expected that in Android's next major release, opting out of Edge-to-Edge will no longer be possible.
Apache Cordova will continue to prepare for this expected future behavior change.
Breaking Changes:
>=20.5.0Features:
AndroidEdgeToEdge preference & theme flagandroidx.core:core-splashscreen@1.0.1com.google.gms:google-services@4.4.2androidx.webkit:webkit@1.12.1androidx.appcompat:appcompat@1.7.0Fixes:
Chores & Refactoring: