Google Ending Android Market Support For Android 2.1 Eclair And Below

Google has announced that it will be ending support for Android Market for devices running Android 2.1 Eclair and below.

“On June 30, 2017, Google will be ending support for the Andorid market app on Android 2.1 Eclair and older devices,” Google said on the Android Developers Blog. “ When this change happens, users on these devices will no longer be able to access, or install other apps from the Android Market.”

Google said that the upcoming change will happen without any notifications on the device. The company added that this is due to “technical restrictions” that are present on the original Android Market app. The devices affected by the change are those running Android 1.0, 1.1, 1.5 Cupcake, 1.6 Donut, 2.0 and 2.1 Eclair. Users that have an Android smartphone from 2008 to 2010 are the ones most likely running these versions of the operating system.

The company also pointed out that these older versions of Android are no longer supported by most app developers. Google also said that these versions of Android OS “account for only a small number of installs.”

This means that the change should only affect a small number of users. Google’s monthly usage breakdown of Android versions doesn’t even show 2.1 Eclair, which means that it only has less than a 0.1 percent market share. This isn’t that all too surprising considering that Android 2.1 Eclair is already seven years old. Now, most Android users are on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and 7.0 Nougat, and are eagerly awaiting the release of Android 8.0 “O” later this fall.

The Android Market was the original app store for Android devices, and it was first introduced by Google in 2008. In 2012, the Android Market was replaced by the Google Play Store, which is available on devices running Android 2.2 Froyo and above. Google Play became the Android operating system’s all-in-one portal for not just buying/installing apps, but also buying music, books and movies.

Although Google will no longer support the Android Market app on devices running Android 2.1 and below, the company said that it will still support later versions of the app “for as long as feasible.” What that exactly means is open to interpretation, but at least it looks like Google isn’t completely abandoning it just yet.

For those still using older devices affected by the upcoming change, they could start downloading all the apps they want from the Android Market app before it gets shut down. Users should also still be able to side load apps to their PCs, so they could reinstall apps on their phones when they need to.

Goole Play will now be the only app store that will be fully supported by Google starting on June 30. The company says that Google Play will continue to work for devices running Android 2.2 and above. The only downside here is that the Google Play app on Android 2.3.x and 3.x devices no longer receives updates anymore, as pointed out by Neowin.