Last year, we saw a number of tech giants ditching some of their non-profitable and or old products and services, in order to refocus their energies to build for the now. WhatsApp has long reigned as the most popular instant messaging app with billions of users worldwide. In a
blog post released in 2016, the company made it clear that they would be pulling support for certain mobile platforms which were more or less becoming obsolete. This includes old Android versions (2.2 and below), iPhone 3GS/iOS 6, Windows Phone 7, and Nokia Symbian S60.
Two more mobile platforms have also joined the cut list. As at 31
st December 2017, WhatsApp ceased to be available on BlackBerry OS/BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8.0 devices. The proprietors of the said platforms had also pulled support last year, with BlackBerry giving up its native OS for Google’s Android mobile OS, and Microsoft ending updates for the Windows Phone platform, in favor of reaching Windows enthusiasts by making Microsoft products and services available on Android and iOS.
Below are some devices that are on WhatsApp’s cut list and their respective cut dates.
- BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 after December 31, 2017
- Windows Phone 8.0 and older after December 31, 2017
- Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018
- Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020
According to WhatsApp, since the majority of mobile users are on either the Android or iOS platform, they’d prefer to focus efforts on developing and improving their services on those platforms. Also, older OS versions may be unable to support recent technologies and make it hard to implement necessary updates and features.
If you still own any of the devices with cut support, you’d best upgrade to a recent Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone to continue using WhatsApp.
