Android Question AppCompat : still relevant?

[rabbitBUSH]

I'm busy with a new app using some code snippets from an older one (built in the last 2 years).

I had to check what libraries were used in the older app and noticed that AppCompat was an included library.

The question is, given the reason for AppCompat being provided, that is, to give some backward compatibility for older versions of Android, is it still relevant to include the library?

Is there an sense of how many older Android phones still are in use (and that are capable of running the sort of apps circulating today)?

I'm not even sure that anything from the AppCompat library was used in the older app I made. Actually, I'm not sure how to use anything in that library anymore, either.

 

[aeric]

It is still relevant to change the color of status bar, tool bar and other theme in manifest editor.
If you don't need to change the color then it is not needed.

 

[Erel]

The answer is NO. Maybe there are some edge cases that I don't remember right now but generally speaking it is no longer needed.
You can change these colors without AppCompat.

AppCompat was important when Android 4 was popular. It bridged the gap between the halo theme (Android 4) and the material theme (Android 5+).

 

[rabbitBUSH]

don't remember

yup - age is a terrible thing