Android Q emulator - Build.VERSION.SDK_INT returns 28

Before the API is finalized and officially becomes API 29 (where you'd use compileSdkVersion 29, etc), you must use BuildCompat.isAtLeastQ():

Checks if the device is running on a pre-release version of Android Q or newer.

Note: This method will return false on devices running release versions of Android. When Android Q is finalized for release, this method will be deprecated and all calls should be replaced with Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.Q.


Note that Ian's solution requires AndroidX and is only available from Java/Kotlin code.

If your project is not ready for AndroidX just yet, or you need the value in a resource or the manifest, you can use bool resources:

  • Create res/values/bools.xml and put <bool name="isQ">false</bool> in there

  • Create res/values-v29/bools.xml and put <bool name="isQ">true</bool> in there

At this point, if you refer to the isQ resource, you will get true on Android Q and higher devices, false otherwise.