Whatsapp Drops Support For Android KitKat: Latest Updates

26 October 2023

Being the most used messaging app, Whatsapp makes business and personal communication easy and universal around the globe. It is important that the app is available to as many people as possible because of its global reach. It is also necessary to keep in mind that different people use different operating systems on their devices.

Given that not everyone has access to Android 14, many are still stuck with older versions. The most well-known version Android 4.4, has a user demography of 0.5%. The version was a huge success back in 2013. It has remained a crowd favorite, and it has been hard for many fans to let go.

WhatsApp drops support for Android 4.4, and it's been a long timing coming for the app on KitKat https://t.co/sy2OzbVLfV
— Android Police (@AndroidPolice) October 24, 2023

The percentage has been going down steadily over the years, especially after Jelly Bean. It completely lost the support of Google in 2021, which made it obvious that Kit Kat would be up next.

According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has recently released a new version that drops support for Android KitKat. This is the only compatibility change that the report mentions at the moment.

While it is unlikely that there are many people still using Android 4.4 and relying on WhatsApp regularly, this decision could help reduce maintenance overhead and improve the product for users of current operating systems.

Ending support for KitKat isn’t new in the tech world. Dropbox ended its support for the Android 4.4 version over three years ago, and Android Messages, (now known as Messages by Google), also dropped its support for this old version in 2018. While we may cherish the fond memories of Android 4.4, technology moves fast, and sometimes, it’s better to move on.

Recently, WhatsApp has been releasing a lot of updates for its Android version. One of the most significant updates is the multi-account switching feature, which allows users to use more than one WhatsApp account on one installation of the app instead of having multiple copies on their device. Besides, they are testing voice messages, stickers, and extra security features, such as hiding locked chats. As the most used messaging service, the more updates, the better.

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The CEO Of OpenAI Joins Microsoft Adding Further To The Controversy

Sam Altman, CEO Of OpenAI Joins Microsoft Amid Controversy

In a chaotic boardroom coup at the OpenAI on Friday, Sam Altman, the company's CEO, was overthrown. He was also the company's co-founder; however, news came in of him joining Microsoft after he was fired. Microsoft is one of the biggest stakeholders of OpenAI, with an investment of $13 billion. The balance of power is a significant move in the age of Artificial Intelligence, especially with the integration of new technology over the decades. https://twitter.com/ericzhu105/status/1726668924652335188?s=20 After Altman was fired, another co-founder of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, joined the company Microsoft. Brockman was the president of the OpenAI company, thus influencing how OpenAI will function in the future. After Altman was fired, Mira Murati took the position of interim CEO of OpenAI but will return to her original role of chief technology officer at OpenAI. The ChatGPT company will hire Emmett Shear as the interim CEO, leaving her position as the former CEO at Amazon's streaming service Twitch. Satya Nadella, the Microsoft CEO, posted on the social media platform X about their hiring of Sam Altman at Microsoft. The two ex-colleagues and co-founders of OpenAI, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, will lead an advanced AI research team at Microsoft. The ChatGPT organization, OpenAI, significantly changed the industry, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence. The balance of power changed, and with the acquisition of Altman and Brockman, Microsoft had the upper hand. https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1726518259896201296?s=20 Altman visited OpenAI's headquarters and wrote, "First and last time I ever wear one of these." along with posting a photo on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, where he is holding a green guest badge which was connected to a labeled lanyard "OpenAI"! As per the rumors in the industry and certain reports by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the board that fired Altman is worried. They are trying to reconsider the decision and have second thoughts. They wanted to re-engage and discuss with Brockman and Altman to return, but the ball is out of their court now! Read More About: Pinterest Launched A New Education And Information Hub For Creators YouTube Premium Introduces International Price Hikes After Cracking Down Ad Blockers

Youtube’s Ad Sales For Q3 Fy23 Surged By 12.5%, Reaching Nearly $8 Billion

All those pesky YouTube Ads are turning out to be a boon for YouTube. For the end of the quarter on September 30, 2023, tech giant Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reported a total ad revenue of $59.6 billion. The ad revenue touched $44 billion, which was brought in by Google’s search business, which marked a hike of 11.3 %. YouTube has generated $7.95 billion in ad revenue for Q3 2023. It has been a 12.5% increase from the previous year. The corporation has credited the positive outcome to brand and direct-response advertising. The total ad revenue for the company has grown by 9.5%. The ad revenue in the previous year had been a far lesser number- a mere 1.9% since 2021. At an investor call, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, reported that daily views for the short-form video platform have increased significantly. YouTube Shorts has increased in views to 70 billion per day. It was 50 billion earlier this year. He even added that the company is planning to introduce enhancements for Shorts, including AI-powered editing tools along with other features. In his statement, he said, “I’m pleased with our financial results and our product momentum this quarter, with AI-driven innovations across Search, YouTube, Cloud, our Pixel devices and more. We’re continuing to focus on making AI more helpful for everyone; there’s exciting progress and lots more to come." Google has registered a total profit of $19.7 billion for the third quarter of 2023. It marks a 46% increase from that of Q3 of 2022. The company’s total revenue has reached $76.7 billion (11%). Google’s cloud computing services, Google Cloud, have also seen an increase in profit margins due to increased business in AI training tools. It marked a growth of 22% year over year in revenue. Interestingly, Google Cloud’s performance in Q3 revenue of $8.41 billion fell short of investor expectations. It missed the planned $8.64 billion. Alphabet is even facing an antitrust trial, where it has been alleged of monopolistic practices in search dominance. This has led to Alphabet’s shares declining over 6% in after-hours trading, despite YouTube’s otherwise strong performance. Read Also: Whatsapp Drops Support For Android KitKat: Latest Updates WhatsApp Is Testing Pinning Feature With Specific Timeframe Manish Rawat's Zinmatt Is Making Learning Free And Accessible

Meta Launching Free Subscription For Ad-Free Experience In Europe

Facebook and Instagram will be removing ads from their platforms and are introducing a paid subscription for users to avail of the feature. The service is available all over the European Union. It will be offered for roughly €9.99 per month on the web or €12.99 / month on iOS and Android to account for additional fees. Meta issued in their statement, “To comply with evolving European regulations, we are introducing a new subscription option in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. In November, we will be offering people who use Facebook or Instagram and reside in these regions the choice to continue using these personalized services for free with ads, or subscribe to stop seeing ads. While people are subscribed, their information will not be used for ads.” The subscription has been introduced to address the concerns of the European Union about Meta’s ad targeting and data collection practices. Meta believes the new policy will have a more clear and definitive privacy requirement met. The requirements are set by the European data laws that include the Digital Markets Act and GDPR. Free access that comes with ads is set to remain available. “If you choose to continue to use our products for free, your experience will stay the same – and that experience will continue to be supported by the tools and settings that we have created to empower people to control their ads experience,” Meta explained. Meta has written in their blog post while announcing the subscription, “We respect the spirit and purpose of these evolving European regulations, and are committed to complying with them.” The ad-free subscription will be available only for those 18 and above in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland. It will initially apply across all linked Facebook and Instagram accounts. Eventually, however, Meta will be charging extra for linked accounts. Starting March 1st, 2024, there will be an additional fee of €6 on the web or €8 on iOS and Android per linked account. The company told The Wall Street Journal that it will temporarily stop showing ads to teenagers in the region from November 6. Read Also: Whatsapp Drops Support For Android KitKat: Latest Updates Manish Rawat’s Zinmatt Is Making Learning Free And Accessible Youtube’s Ad Sales For Q3 Fy23 Surged By 12.5%, Reaching Nearly $8 Billion

Whatsapp Drops Support For Android KitKat: Latest Updates

Manish Rawat’s Zinmatt Is Making Learning Free And Accessible

Youtube’s Ad Sales For Q3 Fy23 Surged By 12.5%, Reaching Nearly $8 Billion

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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Manish Rawat’s Zinmatt Is Making Learning Free And Accessible

Youtube’s Ad Sales For Q3 Fy23 Surged By 12.5%, Reaching Nearly $8 Billion

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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Follow Us

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