It was in the consideration for a long time and finally, Google pulled the plugs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Gingerbread's long run of 6 years finally comes to an end as the latest Google play service is no longer compatible with the Android 2.3 and google confirms there will be no further updates and support for the obsolete version.
According to Forbes, The usage of Gingerbread has fallen from its rather dominant position in the Android landscape. Google is trying to move all its Android users up the latter versions of available to ensure better security of the handsets, as well as opening up of more applications and functionalities to them. The legacy support for Gingerbread has been cut off as its depreciation has been highlighted in recent times.
The developers will not be able to use any features from Google Play Services Version 10.2 or later on their Gingerbread-powered devices. Android Gingerbread has been there for six years, but now it is looking at its end. With the launch of new versions of Android, Google is looking to move its users up the ladder to use new handsets.
According to Digital Trends, Google has withdrawn its support for Gingerbread version from Friday onwards. The Gingerbread version works on API level 9, while the most recent active API level has been determined to be 14, starting from Android version Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. Honeycomb, another Android version of Google, will also see the support withdrawn along with Gingerbread.
This does not mean that the Android devices powered by Gingerbread will become out of use completely. Apart from receiving lesser updates for the operating system, the old device users will be able to make calls, run existing apps, handle data and do all the things that a smart phone is supposed to do.
Currently, Android version 6.0 Marshmallow sees the lion's share of the market of users with 30.7 percent of shares. Android version 5.1 Lollipop has the second largest share of the market with 23.1 percent, while Android version 4.4 KitKat takes up the third place with 21.9 percent of users. Compared to these, Android 2.3 Gingerbread has only 1.3 percent of the share of users to its credit.
