It’s no secret that applications evolve. They gain functions, require more power and that forces them, little by little, to leave mobile phones behind. They do it, yes, with a certain tenderness. They are not abandoning last year’s versions, nor the previous one, but they are stopping offering support for much, much older versions, enough so that the measure affects the smallest possible number of users. WhatsApp is no exception and, as on many other occasions, it is likely that only a handful of users will be affected.
what has happened. That WhatsApp has updated its minimum requirements, specifically those related to iOS and iPhones. According to the company on its website, starting February 24, 2025 (not now, not next week, but next year) WhatsApp will only be compatible with devices that have iOS 14.1 or higher. As far as Android is concerned, Android 5.0 or higher is still the minimum requirement.
What does that mean? That there are several iPhone models that will be left without support and will not be able to continue using the application. As stated by Applesfera, the mobile phones that are left out are the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, models that were launched on September 20, 2013 and October 19, 2014, respectively. We are talking about mobile phones with about ten years of life.
And will it affect me? Most likely not. Unless you have one of those three models, WhatsApp will continue to work as before. What’s more, the number of people affected by the end of support is likely to be minimal.
Because? Because according to official Apple data (which does not take iOS 18 into account), 86% of all devices released in the last four years use iOS 17. Only 11% use iOS 16 and only 3% use an older version . iOS 14.1, which was released in October 2020, is in that 3% along with iOS 15 and the other versions.
In short, it is not something to worry about.
Can I continue using WhatsApp? Surely yes. If you have an iPhone 6S or later, the answer is yes. However, that does not mean that you have an updated mobile phone. Apple abandons devices as time goes by and, although applications continue to offer support for a while, sooner or later everything comes to an end. Without going any further, iOS 18 has dropped the iPhone 8 / 8 Plus and the iPhone X.
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