It looks like it’s the end of the road for Android devices running Android 2.3.7 and older. Android 2.3.7, better known as Gingerbread, was one of the more significant updates to Android as the operating system began to become more mainstream. However, it looks like it will also serve a new significance as the cutoff point for Google Services.
The announcement comes to light after a post on the Android Support Forums by community manager, Zak Pollack. In the post, the move is explained to be part of the “ongoing efforts to keep [our] users safe”. Of course, from a security perspective, the move will make things easier as security updates to Android can now focus on updating newer devices. That said, the distribution of active devices that fall into this category is negligible which isn’t surprising considering Gingerbread came out in 2010. Google’s last update in April 2020 showed that Android 9.0 (Pie) is currently the most common version of the OS in the market.
While it may seem a little harsh, the ending of support is nothing new. We’ve seen companies drop support for devices and software before. So, if you’re still running Android 2.3.7 on your devices, it would be advisable to update to Android 3.0 Honeycomb – if available.
Come September 27, 2021, any device running Gingerbread will face errors logging into Google apps like Google, Gmail, YouTube and Maps. That said, the OS itself will still be usable. However, accessing YouTube, Gmail and other Google apps will require the use of the browser. Keep in mind, that Google Play Service will also be affected. So, accessing the Google Play Store may be an issue for these devices.
Google’s move to drop support isn’t a controversial one considering how far Android has come since then. This and the fact that an increasing number of manufacturers are committing to updates for their devices. Most recently, Samsung committed to three year support for updates for their current device line up. Other manufacturers have also followed suit.
