WhatsApp being the most popular instant messaging app among the users of all age, the company was supporting almost all major and low-end devices as of now. As a result, you could even get WhatsApp on Nokia feature phones. However, things changed drastically, when Android took over the Smartphone world and Apple gained more smartphone user base after the fall of big wigs like Nokia and BlackBerry. Earlier till 2007, the major share of Smartphone market was captured by Nokia with Symbian OS and the BlackBerry with its BlackBerry OS running smartphones.
Now if we look the stats again, the Android and iOS have captured almost all of the (i.e. 99.5%) smartphone market share. In such, situation, it makes sense to stop development for the old version of the OS that isn’t being used by many people.
As a result, WhatsApp has decided to stop its messaging app development for some of the Android, Apple iPhone, Nokia and BlackBerry devices that are running the older version of the OS. So, here is the list of the devices that is going to take a hit. If you own any of the device running below mentioned OS version, you may need to consider a switch to the latest devices running the latest version of the OS.
Apple iPhone Device: WhatsApp won’t support iOS 6 running devices anytime soon. However, iOS 6 was released back in 2012, and if you own an iOS device such as iPhone, you must have upgraded to the latest version of iOS as of now. Even being on iOS 7 means that your iPhone won’t take a hit.
However, the iPhone 3GS will be left behind as Apple itself has stopped supporting the device.
Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone devices: If you are using Nokia Lumia devices such as Lumia 510, 710 and 810 smartphone that is running on Windows Phone 7, then you are out of the game as WhatsApp will not be available for Windows Phone 7 running devices anymore.
HTC, Samsung, Motorola and other Devices: If you own an Android device that runs on the absolute Android 2.1 or Android 2.2, the WhatsApp will not be available for your device as WhatsApp is ending the support for above said devices and OS versions.
Nokia S40 and Symbian Devices: If you are Nokia fan with a Nokia S40 or a Nokia S60 Symbian running device, then the bad news is that WhatsApp won’t support your device anymore as well.
Blackberry Devices: If you are using a BlackBerry devices that is running Blackberry OS 10 then it is time to switch as the WhatsApp is ending its support to devices running BlackBerry OS 10 running phone that includes BlackBerry Z10, BlackBerry Passport and BlackBerry Classic. The support will end on June 30, 2017.
What can you do now? Well, you can make a switch and get a new smartphone or used smartphone that runs on the OS version supported by WhatsApp. Alternatively, you can also install WhatsApp on PC.