It’s now beyond any doubt that WhatsApp users on aging operating systems will have to look elsewhere to continue using the leading chat app by the end of this year. The company has confirmed again that the chat client will not be available on a number earlier platforms by the end of this month.
Dynamism in technology and people’s preferences has changed dramatically over the past few years. Barely a decade ago was the world of smartphone dominated by devices manufactured by Nokia and BlackBerry, but over that short period, Android and iOS came transcended and over 95% of smartphones now run on these operating systems.
WhatsApp was incorporated in 2009 a time when the now seemingly out of fashion phones were the best in the market but that has changed over time and smartphone universe is now manned by devices running on the Google and Apple operating systems. Of course, the App has been growing since then but not at the rate registered after the multi-billion Facebook acquisition in 2014. The chat service has been ushering new features built out of new technologies ceaselessly. Unfortunately, these old devices lack the capabilities to run these intriguing brand inclusions. According to a statement released by the company months ago, there are plans also to center focus on three major platforms-Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.
Early this year, in February, to be precise, the company announced that it would end support for Nokia and BlackBerry devices as well as Android, iPhones and Windows Phones running on older operating systems – this was one of the resolutions as the now Facebook-owned company ushered in its 7th birthday. However, months later an announcement was made that support for Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian and BlackBerry OS/BlackBerry 10 would be extended until next year June 30. And now WhatsApp has just reminded users on older OS versions about the planned cease via a blog post.
Millions of users will be affected across different platforms though not a big percentage as the messenger’s user base is quite massive. To start with, not so many Android users will be affected but WhatsApp will definitely not run on versions 2.1 and 2.2 of the popular OS. If you are still using any of these versions you better upgrade before your App becomes obsolete. Windows Phone 7 users will have to get other devices or upgrade as well. Finally, for iPhone owners make sure your device is not running on iOS 6 or older to continue enjoying WhatsApp after this festive season and the case is same for iPhone 3GS devices.
As earlier stated, the number will not be such big. According to stats, only 0.1 percent of Android devices are still running on earlier OS version while for iPhones approximately 8 percent of the Apple mobile gadgets are still on the older versions of the OS, anything under iOS 9 inclusive (the figures are as at November 2016 and October 2016 for Android and iOS respectively).
WhatsApp has emerged as the most used messaging service in the market today. The client boasts over 1.1 billion monthly active users and the number will most likely increase with the introduction of video calling function. Android, iOS and Windows Phone versions of the chat client now enters direct competition with the likes of Microsoft’s Skype, Apple’s FaceTime, Google’s Hangouts/Duo and Sister App Facebook Messenger among other messengers offering the face-to-face chat feature.
To conclude, no single subscriber will be amused to wake up on the Eve of the New Year only to be greeted with a nasty message that your loved device is no longer compatible with WhatsApp. Upgrade your device to avoid panic and the looming disgusting shock.