Google Ends Support for Android 4.4 KitKat - Millions of Devices Affected

And it's not just smartphones, but also tablets and e-readers.

The Android KitKat platform was first released about 10 years ago, and now its lifecycle has come to an end - starting in August, Google will completely cease its support.

This is not just about the lack of new security patches - for this OS, they stopped being released back in October 2017 - but about the unavailability of updates for the Google Play Services library. This service is essential for the operation of not only the official Gmail, YouTube, and Google Play Store, but also for many third-party applications. Some of them will stop updating, while others will simply cease to function.

As of July 2023, the number of active devices running Android 4.4 KitKat is less than 1%. This may seem very small, but in the grand scheme, it's a significant number of gadgets - around 15-25 million. And it's not just smartphones, but also tablets and e-readers.

Users of such devices will either need to upgrade the system if an update is available or finally replace their gadget with a newer one.