Android NFC host card emulation

Question

I want to implement a program that uses HCE, but my device has Android 4.3 and does not support HCE. Is it possible to deploy a HCE app to devices with API versions < 19?

Answer 1

No, that's not possible. The Android system before version 4.4 (API level less than 19) does not include the software stack that is necessary to perform HCE.

That's the point of having different API versions (levels). Each API level adds (and sometimes removes) functionality that is available to your apps. Specifically with API levels on ANdroid a higher level typically means more (with the exception of depreciation/removal) functionality. As HCE was introduced in API level 19, devices having a lower API level do not support that functionality.

Sometimes, however, there is functionality that is backported to lower API levels by means of Support Libraries . This is typically done to provide a consisted look and feel for apps across a broad range of platform verions and is mainly done for grahical user interface components. However, support for HCE requires modifications deep inside the Android system (NFC system service, NFC low-level library) that cannot be achieved by simply adding a support library to an app.