This method has been around since Lollipop 5.0 but marked as @hidden. It has then been made public in the latest O preview and it can be (most likely safely) accessed via reflection between API 21 and 25.
I'm asking if there is a way to port this back to API 19 and below. Though it seems pretty much impossible since it is relying on native methods.
Here's the source code for reference.