There are discussions on whether Android’s fragmentation is its problem or strength. Some devices run on older versions of the operating system. It seems that Google is slowly making move to remove these older versions as it decided that it won’t support the oldest versions of Android.
Gingerbread which is Android 2.3, was the most popular and used version of Android. It remained after the release of newer versions of Android. There are still some active devices that use this Android version. Even though the number of devices might be less, Google is issuing a notice that these devices will not be able to continue from next month. Sign-in to Google accounts from devices with Android 2.3.7 or lower will not be supported from September 27th as notified by Google. The company sees it as a measure to safeguard Google account’s security as the older versions will now be more vulnerable to unpatched issues.
The devices with the mentioned Android version, will not be given access to Gmail and YouTube and even the Google account on the phone itself. It can be accessed from a mobile web browser. Google had earlier announced that Google Play Services won’t be accessible on phones running on Android 4.3 or lower. The devices which run on the older Android versions are advised to upgrade so as to ensure security and convenience.
