Google recently announced that the Android 2.3 Gingerbread version will no longer be supported once the new update, Google Play services 10.0.0, starts rolling out by next month. The search engine giant added that only 1.3 percent of Android devices run on Gingerbread and that the reason to drop it is to focus its resources towards newer versions of the mobile operating software.

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This means that any devices that run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread will no longer be supported once the new version of Play Services is updated. Google has yet to confirm the exact date when it plans to cut support for Android Gingerbread, although this early statement will serve as a notice for users who still use the old operating system.

According to Android Headlines, aside from Android Gingerbread, Google also said that it is bumping up the minimum Support API level from 9 to 14, which is the Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich. This means that once Google rolls out Google Play Services version 10.2, Android 3.0 Honeycomb will all be cut off from all support coming from Google.

Cutting off support does not mean that Android devices running on Gingerbread or Honeycomb will no longer work. It only means that certain apps or features will no longer be able to work unless such apps or services are designed to work on the older versions of Android.

With regard to market share, Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich each hold 1.3 percent of the Android market, according to 9to5Google. Surprisingly, the two old operating systems hold a bigger market share compared with the recently released Android 7.0 Nougat.

TagsGoogle, gingerbread, android 2.3, android gingerbread, Android, Google Play, google play services, android 2.3 gingerbread