Gingerbread, Jelly Bean: Google cleans up old versions of Android
As we know, old operating systems always end up disappearing. When there are fewer and fewer users it is no longer worth keeping the system up to date and Android follows the same logic. While Android 12 “Snow Cone”, is due to land at the end of the year, the oldest versions are pushed towards the exit…
Last month, we learned that Google had decided to no longer update APK Play Services for devices running Jelly Bean (v4.1, 4.2 and 4.3) which will prevent updates to applications installed on these smartphones. Hard blow for the owners of old cuckoos like the Samsung Galaxy II or the HTC One. The same thing happened the previous year with devices running Ice Cream Sandwich (v4.0).
11 years of good and loyal service
Another blow for lovers of Prehistory since Google is pushing the household even further. Indeed, for a few days we have also known that devices running Android “Gingerbread” (v2.3.7) will no longer even be able to connect to their Google account. It’s a bit like the death of the little horse, because even if we can still connect from Chrome to YouTube, Gmail and company, users will eventually drop the case. The ” sentence is irrevocable As friend Brogniart would say. We are talking about smartphones here like the very first Samsung Galaxy S: devices that are 11 years old. An eternity for the technophiles that we are, but who still work very well.
We can both rejoice and deplore it. Celebrate this, because Google in doing this seeks to encourage users of old devices to switch systems or phones to protect them from the gaping loopholes accumulated over years. And deplore it, because Google could patch these flaws and prevent grandpa / grandma from having to change devices. And then at a time when we realize that rare metals are more present in smartphones that sleep in our drawers than in our floors, Google could lead by example and take steps to avoid overconsumption.
No escape for dinosaurs
We liked the articles from our colleagues who advise updating the devices concerned or switching to an alternative system. We must excuse them, during the holidays, it is the interns who run the shop. If a device running Gingerbread hasn’t been updated to a newer version, it never will be, unless it has never been connected to the Internet in its entire long life. And regarding alternative ROMs, neither / e / nor LineageOS offer versions for such old devices. The solution ? The recycling center where the device may have the chance to be recycled …
