Google Play Services will cease its support for Android KitKat in upcoming releases starting from August 2023. This decision comes just before the 10th anniversary of KitKat’s release in 2013. Consequently, devices operating on KitKat will no longer receive updates or assistance from Google Play Services, as confirmed by the company.
Android KitKat was a significant milestone for the operating system, bringing forth various essential features such as immersive full-screen mode, Hands-free Google Now with Full screen widget, Native printer support, Subtitles and closed captioning support in the video player, Better dialer with quick dial and smarter caller ID, Emoji on the Google keyboard, and a Google Now page on the home screen.
However, after almost a decade, Google has chosen to prioritize supporting more contemporary Android platforms that allow for advanced features and security updates. This move is driven by the realization that maintaining support for KitKat in Play Services demands additional developer resources without substantial benefits to users.
According to Google’s reports, less than 1% of active Android devices still run on KitKat. With such a small user base, continuing to support the aging platform in Play Services becomes increasingly impractical.
As a result of this decision, beginning with version 23.30.99 in August, forthcoming Play Services releases will no longer be compatible with devices that are still running Android 4.4 (API levels 19 & 20), as support for KitKat will be discontinued.
