I’ve using FDroid for some time now, but now it says “it was developed for an older Android version (I’m on 14) and can’t update automatically” I read that FDroid Basic was recommended for newer phones, so I installed and copied my repos (still have both apps) but it doesn’t recognize my installed apps. Am I missing something?
Read about how Android SDK versions work. There is a minimum SDK and a target SDK.
The SDK is a set of libraries shipped with the OS, so if people use outdated Android versions (which especially since Android 11 seems to be horrifyingly common), apps with a higer minSDK than what is shipped will not run.
F-Droid targets outdated Android versions, for sustainability and stuff.
F-Droid Basic targets the latest SDK and runs very fine. I use it for browsing apps and adding repos. For installing I use Obtainium, as otherwise I would rely on IzzyOnDroid a ton, which makes no sense.
Obtainium has more attack surface though, and no support for Mirrors. You will need a Github Account and API key if you have many Apps. You can use it to download F-Droid apps too though.