Instant messaging app WhatsApp has announced via its blog post that it will be ending support for the Windows Phone platform this year on December 31, 2019. The company has clarified that this is implied to all the versions of the Windows Phone operating system. We should also mention that in this case, end of support does not mean lack of future updates. Instead, it means that WhatsApp will completely stop working on the platform.
But then, on a separate note, WABetaInfo, a Twitter account that tracks beta updates of the messaging service, has tipped that a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app is being worked upon. It has also said that the new app will be available for Windows Desktop as well as Windows Phone platforms.
The Facebook-owned instant messaging app took to its mobile support blog to post about the fact that it is ending support for all versions of the Windows Phone platform. It has also said that the support for the platform will end on December 31, 2019. So, if you are a Windows Phone user, you will not be able to use WhatsApp on your device starting 2020.
The company has also spoken about its decision to technology website Gadgets 360 saying that the last update for the platform will be issued in June. WhatsApp has been quoted saying, “Following Microsoft‘s recent decision to end support for Windows Mobile devices in December, WhatsApp will release its final update for Windows phones in June. WhatsApp will continue working on Windows phones through the end of the year.”
We should also mention that WhatsApp stopped working for Windows Phone 7 at the end of 2016.
In addition to this, the blog also says that WhatsApp will stop working on older versions of Android (v2.3.7 and older) and iOS (iOS 7 and older) starting February 1, 2020.
Coming to the report by WABetaInfo, it says that the company is working on a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app, which would let users access it on recent versions of Windows Phone and Windows Desktop platforms. However, there is no other information about it that has been revealed yet.
It was recently also reported that WhatsApp for iOS is also under development. According to various reports, the initial testing version of the WhatsApp for iPad will be officially released soon, so we may not have to wait for long to find out what the app will be like.
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