ServiceM8 15 retires ServiceM8 Lite for Android and replaces it with ServiceM8 for Android, which ServiceM8 calls its biggest Android upgrade yet, bringing it in line with the iOS app.
- ServiceM8 Lite for Android is gone. The replacement is called ServiceM8 for Android.
- New features include note editing, photo markup, barcode and document scanning, and video capture.
- Proposals, deposits, payments including Tap to Pay, invoicing and full inbox are now on Android too.
- Office Agent, the new schedule, diary threads and reactions all reach Android as well.
- The launch did not list anything Android still lacks, so test your own workflow before switching.
- Apps for both iOS and Android land in the app stores from 18 September 2026.
Keep asking about it in
Quick answer: ServiceM8 15 retires ServiceM8 Lite for Android and replaces it with ServiceM8 for Android. At the launch on 18 September 2026, ServiceM8 called it the biggest Android upgrade the company has ever shipped, and said it brings Android in line with the iOS app. The app now covers note editing, photo markup, barcode and document scanning, proposals, payments and Office Agent, all things Android users have been asking for since Lite launched. This is part of a wider set of changes covered in our ServiceM8 15 launch roundup.
The launch video below is cued to the ServiceM8 for Android segment (44:02). It is the source for everything in this post.
Why did ServiceM8 on Android have such a bad reputation?
ServiceM8 was built for iPhone and iPad first. For years, the Android version was a separate, cut-down app called ServiceM8 Lite. It let field staff see jobs, create and schedule work, navigate to a site, message customers, complete forms and checklists, take photos, add materials and services, and send quotes and invoices. That’s a reasonable spread of features, but it was still noticeably behind what an iPhone user got.
That gap is well documented. In our ServiceM8 vs Tradify comparison, the Android limitation was one of the main reasons tradies on Reddit gave for choosing Tradify instead, which runs full apps on iOS, Android and the web. If half your crew was on Samsungs, ServiceM8 was a harder sell. That caveat is now out of date after this launch, and we will update that post to reflect it.
What did ServiceM8 announce for Android?
At the ServiceM8 Launch Event on 18 September 2026, ServiceM8 spent the closing minutes of the stream on Android specifically. The company was blunt about it: rather than adding another feature to Lite, it is retiring the Lite app entirely. The replacement is called ServiceM8 for Android, and it carries a long list of capabilities that were previously iOS-only or missing altogether.
Here is what was read out at the launch as now available on Android:
- Note editing directly on the phone, instead of needing an iPhone to fix a mistake
- Favourite and reorder job actions, so the ones you use most sit where you want them
- An improved job photo gallery
- Video capture, on top of the existing photo support
- Photo import from the phone’s own camera roll
- Photo markup, drawing lines, arrows, shapes and labels straight onto a job photo
- Document scanning
- Barcode scanning
- Client list with job history
- Calendar view
- Map view with route optimisation
- Job lists, staff lists and queues
- Improved form completion and form editing
- Supplier calling and navigation
- Staff messaging
- Activity feed
- Asset scanning, viewing, editing and history
- Knowledge capture, editing and viewing
- Proposal creation, editing and sending
- Deposit support
- Payment support, including Tap to Pay on Android
- The invoicing page
- Full inbox management
That is a big jump from what Lite covered. Photo markup, document scanning, barcode scanning and full proposal editing were the sort of thing that used to send an Android user reaching for an iPhone, or a laptop, to finish the job properly.
| ServiceM8 Lite for Android (before) | ServiceM8 for Android (now) | |
|---|---|---|
| Notes | Create only, edit on iPhone | Create and edit on the phone |
| Photos | Take and view | Take, import, markup and video capture |
| Scanning | Not available | Document scanning and barcode scanning |
| Proposals | Not available | Create, edit and send |
| Payments | Basic invoicing | Deposits, payments and Tap to Pay |
| ServiceM8 15 features | Not applicable | Office Agent, new schedule, diary threads, reactions |
Does Android also get the new ServiceM8 15 features?
Yes. ServiceM8 was specific that Android is not getting a second-tier version of ServiceM8 15, it gets the same new experiences shown earlier in the launch for online and iOS. That includes Office Agent, the new unified schedule, diary threads (replying directly to a job diary note instead of starting a new one), emoji reactions on notes, and the overhauled notifications experience. We cover what Office Agent actually does, and how the daily usage allowance and monthly fee work, in our separate Office Agent post.
What’s still missing on Android?
Honestly, the launch did not say. ServiceM8 read out a long list of what the app now does and framed it as bringing Android in line with iOS, but it did not walk through a feature-by-feature comparison or admit to any remaining gaps. That is not the same as a guarantee of full parity.
If your business runs a mix of iPhones and Android phones, or you are considering moving field staff from iPhone to Android now that Lite is gone, the sensible approach is to test the actual workflow your team uses (quoting, forms, proposals, payments) on an Android device before making it official. Small gaps tend to show up in the details ServiceM8 didn’t mention on stage, not the headline features.
When does ServiceM8 for Android land, and how do I get it?
ServiceM8 said the ServiceM8 15 apps for both iOS and Android would be available in their app stores from 18 September 2026. For the field app, that means updating (or installing fresh, since Lite is being replaced) through the Google Play Store.
Online features are switched on separately. ServiceM8 said to go to its launch page and click the activation link, which reveals an option in Settings to activate ServiceM8 15. If you want to see the Android section as it was announced, it runs from around the 44-minute mark of the full launch video. This article is based on that livestream, so some detail may shift a little as the update actually rolls out.
What this changes for a mixed iPhone and Samsung crew
If you’ve been keeping your Android field staff on Lite and reserving proposals, photo markup or document scanning for whoever has an iPhone, that workaround should no longer be necessary. A technician on a Samsung should now be able to mark up a photo for the customer, scan a barcode to pull material pricing, and send a full proposal from the job site, the same as an iPhone user.
Practically, that means:
- You can stop steering new hires toward iPhone purchases purely for ServiceM8 compatibility.
- Training material and SOPs that used to say “do this on an iPhone” for certain tasks can be simplified to one set of instructions.
- It’s worth a short pilot: pick two or three Android users, run a normal week of jobs through the new app, and check proposals, payments and forms behave the way your business needs before rolling it out fleet-wide.
How do I set this up for my business?
Update the app from the Google Play Store once it lands, then activate ServiceM8 15 online through the launch page link mentioned above. If you’re setting up ServiceM8 for a team that runs a genuine mix of iPhones and Android phones, and want the schedule, forms and automations built around both device types from day one, that’s the sort of setup we handle through our ServiceM8 setup and training service.