WhatsApp has lastly dropped assist for smartphones working on an outdated model of Android, months after Google rendered these older handsets out of date. Earlier this week, the Meta-owned messaging platform discontinued additional updates to customers with smartphones on Android 4.4, extra generally referred to as Android KitKat. Based mostly on latest statistics, a small variety of customers are nonetheless working on Android KitKat, and these customers must replace their software program or change to a more moderen handset so as to proceed utilizing the service.
Function tracker WABetaInfo on Tuesday reported that WhatsApp has elevated its minimal necessities to smartphones running on Android 5.0 (also referred to as Lollipop) or newer. Android KitKat was launched in September 2013, which implies that customers with smartphones working on this working system have had entry to WhatsApp for practically a decade.
Based on latest statistics shared by Google (via Mishaal Rahman), the proportion of customers working on Android 4.4 was between 0.5 % and 0.7 % in Could 2023, when probably the most up-to-date figures have been printed.
Now that WhatsApp has dropped assist for Android 4.4, customers with smartphones working on this outdated model must replace their smartphones to Android 5.0, if a software program replace is offered from the producer. If an replace to a more moderen Android model isn’t out there, customers must change to a extra trendy smartphone.
With out Android 5.0 — now the bottom model at the moment supported by WhatsApp — customers will not obtain updates on their smartphone. Because of this new options like assist for passkeys, a redesigned backside navigation bar, in addition to upcoming options just like the multi-account function (with assist for switching between numbers) are prone to stay unavailable to those customers, except they change to a supported Android smartphone.
