WhatsApp has made it official that from the coming weeks it will only work on the latest versions of WhatsApp: here are which ones
WhatsApp for Android will no longer support devices (smartphones and tablets) that use a version of the operating system prior to 4.1. This news comes from the latest update of the application for the beta program, the number 2.20.198.12 that supports all smartphones running Android 4.1 or later. This is certainly nothing new: already in the past, developers have divested old versions of Android to focus their efforts only on newer smartphones.
What does it mean that WhatsApp will no longer support smartphones with an earlier version of Android 4.1? That very simply those who have one of these devices will no longer receive any updates, not even security updates. All the new features, such as the ability to use the WhatsApp account on up to four devices at once, or send messages that self-destruct after seven days, will only be available to those who have a recent Android smartphone. As it often happens with this kind of news, WhatsApp has decided to anticipate them in time, so that users can find a solution to continue using the app.
On which Android smartphones WhatsApp will no longer work
There is no precise list of devices on which it will no longer be possible to use WhatsApp properly, but simply a generic indication: all smartphones and tablets with a version of Android prior to 4.1 are no longer supported. We don't know the exact number, but there shouldn't be many devices with this version of the green robot's operating system.
In fact, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was released in June 2012 and more than eight years have now passed. In the meantime, Android has reached version 11, which should be released between the end of August and the beginning of September.
In comparison to the current situation, this is a slight step forward: in fact, so far WhatsApp supports all Android smartphones updated to a version number 4.0.3 or higher of the operating system. The step to Android 4.1 will be made official in the coming weeks with the release of the new version of the app.
What does it mean that WhatsApp no longer supports some Android smartphones
It is quite normal for a popular application to remove support for older versions of an operating system after a few years. Il motivo è semplice: dopo cinque-sei anni il numero di smartphone con una versione vecchia dell’OS mobile è risibile, mentre i costi per una software house per supportare quella versione sono alti. Quindi l’unica decisione è mettere fine al supporto.
Cosa vuol dire non supportare più alcuni smartphone? Che chi possiede uno di quei dispositivi non potrà più aggiornare l’applicazione e ricevere gli update con le ultime funzioni e con le patch di sicurezza. Per questo motivo il consiglio è di acquistare un nuovo smartphone se si vuole continuare a utilizzare l’app.
WhatsApp, quali sono i sistemi operativi supportati
Come è la situazione per gli altri sistemi operativo mobile? WhatsApp la spiega con un post sul proprio blog ufficiale. Ecco quali versioni di iOS o KaiOS sono supportate:
- iPhone con iOS 9 e versioni successive
- alcuni telefoni con KaiOS 2.5.1 e versioni successive, inclusi JioPhone e JioPhone 2