As you say goodbye to 2016, it is also time to bid adieu to WhatsApp, unless either you get rid of your outdated phone or find a way to upgrade the operating system. WhatsApp, the globally popular messaging app has decided that it will stop working on lakhs of smartphones from January 1, 2017, unless updated. They have said that the app will discontinue its services on many older OS from the same time. With an aim to add new features and give better options for people to stay connected, WhatsApp believes that the decision taken is a ‘tough’ one but at the same time, it is ‘right’ as well. And it is not that WhatsApp has just announced the decision, as the company had told people about the plan earlier this year too. Meanwhile, it is highly unlikely that people will complain as recently WhatsApp has added many new features including video calling, video streaming, voice calling, gifs, and more. So you either need to get a new smartphone or possibly get your due system software updated.
WhatsApp in a blog had informed that the support for the app will end on several devices as they do not ‘offer the kind of capabilities’ required by it to expand the functionality of the app. The messaging app, with over a billion monthly active users, has become globally the most popular instant texting and voice/video calling app. WhatsApp had recently introduced a video calling service in Android, iOS and Windows, and is now racing against the likes of FaceTime, Skype and Google Duo. WhatsApp has recently added some Snapchat-inspired features in the app. About the video calling feature, the company has said that the calls are always encrypted, like in the case of texting and calling. So, if you want to avail such features from the next year, here are the phones which will not have the app from next year, and you need to upgrade if you have one of them:
WATCH VIDEO | WhatsApp’s Support For Some Older Devices Will Come To An End
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1. iPhones/iOS: Any iPhone running iOS 6 or lower will not get WhatsApp support. Even iPhone 4, 4s and 5 which do not have the latest iOS10 will get the same treatment.
2. Android smartphones: If your smartphone still has the old Android Eclair 2.1 or the Android Froyo 2.2 , then forget using WhatsApp in 2017. In case you have the Android IceCream Sandwich or maybe the Android Jelly Bean then, for now, you do not have to worry a lot.
3. Windows smartphones: The Version 7 on Windows smartphone will not get the support of the app.
Also read | WhatsApp: 5 things you didn’t know you can do in the app
The good news is that users of BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 have got an extension to the deadline, as they will keep getting WhatsApp support at least until June 30, 2017.
