WhatApp, the hugely popular messaging platform which is owned by Facebook, has now dropped support for BlackBerry and Windows Phone, as of New Years Eve last year the two platforms will no longer work with WhatsApp.
The news came from an FAQ page on the WhatsApp website, which mainly explains what platforms are currently supported, which ones aren’t and the reasoning behind dropping support for BlackBerry and Windows Phone.
“These platforms don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.”
The big two
Dropping support for Windows Phone actually makes sense, a number of services have done so recently and Microsoft has even given up, when they backed out of the smartphone market entirely some time last year. BlackBerry’s flagship phones are now powered by a semi flavoured version of Android.
The smartphone market is an ever changing and competitive industry and it recent years, we are just left with the main big two platforms, iOS and Android. While enterprises may still be using BlackBerry for their renowned security, some may argue that iOS is equal. And Android has been offering “Android for Work” for a while now, which is a good option for Google based companies.
What platforms are supported now?
As of writing, WhatsApp only works on Android devices running Android OS 4.0 or later, or iPhones running iOS 7 or later.
Android on older releases that 2.3.3 won’t work, neither will Windows Phone 8 or easier and the iPhone 3GS running iOS 6.
Source: WhatsApp FAQ
