From January 1, 2020 WhatsApp will no longer be updated on Windows Phone devices: what changes for users
From January 1, 2020 WhatsApp will no longer be updated on Windows Phone and Windows Mobile devices. This is certainly not a bolt out of the blue: the news had already been anticipated in previous months and users warned in time. On the other hand, these are two operating systems that the Redmond company itself has decided to stop supporting and that are no longer part of Microsoft's future strategies.
That of WhatsApp is a normal decision, nothing to worry about: in order to focus efforts in the development of new features it is normal that you decide to discontinue support for older operating systems and used by few users. In the past years it happened the same for Symbian and BlackBerry devices and surely in the future it will happen also for some older versions of Android and iOS. Indeed, the date is already set: from February 1, 2020 WhatsApp will no longer be updated on smartphones with Android 2.3.7 and with iOS 8.
WhatsApp stops working on millions of devices
Microsoft has not had much luck in the mobile world and the failure of Windows Phone and Windows Mobile testify to that. After the end of the support of the same Redmond company, WhatsApp has also decided to end the updates of the application for these two operating systems from December 31, 2019. What will happen to users who still use WhatsApp on a smartphone with this operating system? Very simple: they will no longer receive updates that allow them to use new features and close security holes. Inoltre, come si legge dalle FAQ di WhatsApp, già dal 1 luglio 2019 l’applicazione non era più disponibile sul Microsoft Store.
WhatsApp, addio ad Android e iOS
Non solo Windows Phone. WhatsApp ha annunciato che smetterà di supportare anche alcune versioni più datate di Android e iOS. Per la precisione Android 2.3.7 (uscito nel 2010) e iOS 8 (uscito nel 2014). Cosa cambia per gli utenti? Molto probabilmente nulla: si tratta di due versioni del sistema operativo oramai poco utilizzate.
Per essere sicuri che il proprio dispositivo è ancora supportato da WhatsApp, ecco uno specchietto riassuntivo:
- Android con OS 4.0.3 e versioni successive
- iPhone con iOS 9 e versioni successive
- alcuni telefoni con KaiOS 2.5.1 e versioni successive, inclusi JioPhone e JioPhone 2