Owners of older smartphones are learning that WhatsApp may not work on their devices for much longer.
As WhatsApp looks to expand its app’s features in the future, it has decided to discontinue its availability on older model phones as early as the end of this month.
WhatsApp is a wildly popular messaging app owned by Facebook and this latest announcement will affect millions of its users who are currently in possession of older smartphones. Currently, WhatsApp’s services include texting, calls, and video chats.
According to WhatsApp’s blog, upon turning seven years old earlier this year, the company felt the need to make changes based on consumer patterns that have moved towards newer operating systems. The blog post notes that when the app first came onto the market the Apple Appstore was only a few months old and BlackBerry and Nokia were still the dominant choice for operating systems.
“As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use,” states the company blog, referring to Google, Apple, and Microsoft, which account for 99.5% of sales today.
If you’re the nostalgic type, or have a Grandmother who still uses her Nokia but enjoys pictures of her grandkids via WhatsApp, check out the list below and see if you need an upgrade to stay active on the app.
iPhone 3GS will no longer run WhatsApp at the end of this year. Additionally, any phone or iPad running iOS6 needs to be updated or it will stop running the app.
The app will no longer function on Android tablets or phones running Android 2.1 or 2.2. This affects devices sold between 2010 and 2011 that have not been updated.
Windows Phone 7 will no longer run the app.
The following phones will run the app only until June 2017: BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60.
