Minimum OS versions are appropriately configured

Apple and Google enforce minimum OS version floors that increase over time — failing to set an explicit minimum leaves your app exposed to device configurations your dependencies no longer support. Android SDK 21 (Android 5.0), a common implicit default, lacks critical APIs used by modern libraries including SafetyNet, biometric auth APIs, and foreground service types required for background tasks. Google Play enforces a 2-year rolling minimum target-and-minimum policy (android-minimum-target-sdk), rejecting updates that fall below it. On iOS, apps without an explicit minimumVersion may be installed on iOS 12 devices where SwiftUI, Combine, and async/await runtime availability differs, producing crashes that reach production users and trigger store review flags from user-reported bugs.

Set explicit minimum values in both app.json and the Android Gradle file — do not rely on implicit defaults.

// app.json
{
  "expo": {
    "ios": { "minimumVersion": "13.0" }
  }
}

// android/app/build.gradle
defaultConfig {
  minSdkVersion 24      // Android 7.0
  targetSdkVersion 35
  compileSdkVersion 35
}

After updating minSdkVersion, run the full test suite on a device or emulator running Android 7.0 (API 24) to catch any API calls that don't exist below your old minimum. Google Play's policy page (external android-minimum-target-sdk) publishes the current floor — check it before every major release cycle.