INA - SOURCES
Around 50 devices will no longer be able to run the messaging app. This is the second time in the last three months that WhatsApp is phasing out support for a big group of Android and iOS devices.
The last time happened in October when WhatsApp revealed it will no longer support iPhone SE, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, as well as no less than 40 Android devices from Samsung, Huawei, LG, Sony, ZTE, HTC, Lenovo, and Alcatel.
This time around WhatsApp confirmed it will no longer support nearly 50 phones, including the Apple iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c. The rest of the phones on the list are made by Samsung, Huawei, LG, Sony, Lenovo, and ZTE.
The reason these phones will no longer be supported is that they haven’t been updated in a very long time. It looks like WhatsApp has upped the requirements for its app, so phones that don’t run at least Android 5.0 Lollipop or iOS 12.
Currently, WhatsApp’s FAQ still mentions that it supports Android phones running OS 4.1 and newer. However, many of the phones that will lose WhatsApp support at the end of the year are running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.