WhatsApp is poised to stop support for devices running the aged Windows Phone operating system as 2019 draws to a close.
The world’s most popular messaging app regularly ditches support for older software as it becomes obsolete and now it’s decided to draw the curtain on Microsoft’s stab at the mobile market.
The app’s owner Facebook announced earlier this year that the service will be pulled from Windows Phone as it halts development on the discontinued operating system. The cut-off date is tomorrow, December 31.
WhatsApp already stopped supporting earlier Windows Phones at the beginning of 2018, as well as BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10.
The latest cut-off will be followed by dated versions of Android and iOS in a couple of months.
Android versions 2.3.7 and older, as well as iOS 8 and older have until February 1 2020 to continue using WhatsApp before they also face the chop.
Microsoft gave up on its smartphone efforts several years ago, but surprised the industry with plans to make a return in 2020.
In October, the firm revealed early details about a new foldable device known as the Surface Duo – though it’s expected to run on Android instead of a Microsoft-developed operating system.
Meanwhile, iPhone and Android users will likely have upgraded in time to avoid losing access to WhatsApp in February.
The last iPhones released running iOS 7 were the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C back in 2013. It was superseded by iOS 8 in 2014 so if you bought an iPhone (or iPad) after that date you’re going to be fine.
Similarly, Android 2.3.7 was known as ‘Gingerbread’ and was launched way back in 2010. By the February of 2011 it had been supplanted by Android 3.0, also known as Honeycomb. Chances are, unless you’re still rocking a Google Nexus S or a Samsung Galaxy S, you’ll probably be fine.
‘Because we no longer actively develop for these operating systems, some features might stop functioning at any time,’ WhatsApp said in a blog post announcing the cut-off dates.
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