Android KitKat is ready to retire and Google Play Services will no longer support it

Believe it or not, Android 4.4 KitKat is nearly 10 years old. Google’s been working hard to reduce fragmentation and now less than 1% of users are still on this version of the Android operating system. So, in just a few days, the company will retire it for good!

KitKat brought some significant updates to the table. It introduced a new runtime called ART (Android Runtime) to replace Dalvik for improved app performance, was leaner and designed to run on devices with as little as 512 MB of RAM. Most importantly, it kicked off the “OK, Google” voice command we all use (or have stopped using), which practically defined how we interact with smart devices today.

According to an Android Developers Blog post this week, a lot of the modern features we’re used to, like 2-step verification, aren’t even supported on KitKat. That means API levels 19 and 20 won’t work anymore going forward.

KitKat first launched in October 2013, and it honestly feels like yesterday. I remember when Google teamed up with KitKat for their marketing campaign. I swear, I bought a ridiculous amount of chocolate looking for wrapper codes and practically relived Willy Wonka. It was just so much fun to see an OS named after a famous candy bar, and the marketing definitely stuck for myself and others.

I do have fond memories of Ice Cream Sandwich and its holo design, and Jelly Bean right after that. But KitKat was where I really started getting into Android and using my first smartphones. So, what about you? Will you miss KitKat? Do you have any devices still running it? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so hit up the comments!