Google Play services discontinues support for Android KitKat

It’s almost unbelievable, but it’s been a whole decade since Google introduced Android 4.4, also known as Android KitKat. As technology evolves rapidly, Google seems ready to bid farewell to this older operating system to commemorate its 10th anniversary.

Recent reports unveiled the distribution of Android versions on devices, and the findings were surprising. Android 11 (codenamed Red Velvet Cake) emerged as the most widely adopted release as of May 2023. However, shockingly, there were still around 15 million devices running on Android 4.4.

Despite this, Android KitKat accounted for only about 0.5% of the global market share. It appears that this small percentage has prompted Google to finally discontinue support for the aging version.

In a brief announcement on the Android Developers Blog, Google stated that they will no longer support KitKat in future releases of Google Play services. The reason cited was the dwindling active device count on KitKat, which has fallen below 1% as more users upgrade to the latest Android versions.

As of July 2023, the active device count on KitKat is below 1%, leading to the decision to halt support. Devices on KitKat will not receive any versions of the Play Services APK beyond 23.30.99. If you happen to own a device still using KitKat, you have a little time left. Google Play services for KitKat will be discontinued starting August 2023.