WhatsApp will no longer support older versions of Android, Blackberry, Window phone and iOS in 2017.
Earlier in February, WhatsApp announced to cut off BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1 and Android 2.2, Windows Phone 7 and iPhone 3GS/iOS 6 by the year end. But later, WhatsApp updated that it will extend its support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 till June 2017.
WhatsApp added that the older versions don’t offer the kind of capabilities it needs to expand its features such as Video calling and GIF support which it recently rolled out. It stated,
“This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.”
WhatsApp is constantly expanding its features in order to compete with FaceTime, Google Duo and Skype. Video calling, Video Streaming, GIFs and probably Snapchat like features in the near future, are not supported on the older versions. So, WhatsApp will cut them off by the end of December 2016.
Users need to upgrade their phones if they want to use WhatsApp in 2017.
