Meta-owned messaging service WhatsApp will drop support for several phones in the coming months, insider website WABeta reports.
Historically WhatsApp has stopped support for some versions of Android and iOS as they are unable to support certain features in newer updates.
This is now set to include the end of support for the following in the coming months:
- Phones running iOS 10
- Phones running iOS 11
- iPhone 5
- iPhone 5C
Data seen by WABeta indicates that support is currently scheduled to end in October 2022 for these devices, with users encouraged to update to newer iOS versions to continue using the service.
Any device currently running iOS 11 can be updated to iOS 12, after which it will have no problem running WhatsApp. However, since the iPhone 5 and 5C do not support iOS 12, these smartphones won’t be able to run WhatsApp after the cut-off date.
Devices losing WhatsApp support will receive notifications reminding users to update to the latest iOS version to continue using the messaging service.
WhatsApp is currently supported on Android devices with version 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and higher.
Updates
WhatsApp’s latest update saw it roll out ‘reactions’ which allow users to react to messages with an emoji similar to its sister app Facebook Messenger. This includes the ability to ‘like’ or ‘heart’ messages sent by other users.
Reactions which have been confirmed for release include:
- The thumbs-up emoji;
- The heart emoji;
- The crying laughing emoji;
- The shocked/surprised emoji;
- The sad emoji;
- The praying hands/thanks/appreciation emoji.
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