Android: Dex cannot parse version 52 byte code

just use java 1.8 with Android Studio 3.0+ and set following works for me:it seems need the latest build tools

classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.0.0'

and

android {    compileSdkVersion 26    buildToolsVersion "26.0.1"    defaultConfig {        ...                //jackOptions { // DEPRECATED            //enabled true        //}    }    dexOptions {        incremental true    }    compileOptions {        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8    }}

If you have a module with a java library that is not Android-specific, this should work: apply plugin:'java'

Put it at the top of the build.gradle file, then rebuild.

    apply plugin: 'java'    apply plugin: 'jacoco'    dependencies {        compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])        testCompile 'junit:junit:4.11'        sourceCompatibility = 1.7        targetCompatibility = 1.7    }

If you use org.jetbrains:annotation:15 and retrolambda plugin then remove line compile org.jetbrains:annotations:15.0 from your build.gradle and the error will disappear. It works for me.