Android Market Support Will End Soon On Android 2.1 And Older

If you're one of the few people still clinging to an ancient Android device, it is officially time to upgrade. Google has announced that it is going to drop support for the Android Market on Android version 2.1 and older, finally bringing an end to the app store you probably haven't thought about in years. The end of support will take place on June 30, giving you a tad over a week to find something new.

It's hard to imagine many people are still using Android phones this old. Android 2.0/2.1, as an example, would have been found on handsets circa 2009/2010, and it was a far different beast than Android as it exists today. The phones have small, low-resolution displays, low power, slow networks, and few usable apps. More often than not, today's cheapest smartphones are still miles ahead of an old handset running Android Eclair.

Despite a long seven years having passed, Google has still up to this point maintained the Android Market for these old phones — the version of the app store that existed pre-Google Play. Once June 30 rolls around, these old devices won't be able to access Android Market, and Google says that there won't be any notification about the change sent to the devices themselves.

The lack of an on-device notification is said to be due to 'technical restrictions' that exist on the Android Market app. Of course, if you're running Android 2.2 or anything newer, you can use the Google Play Store instead. However, Google says that it will 'still be supporting later versions of Android Market for as long as feasible.'

Tired of using an old, slow smartphone? There's no shortage of incredible options on the market, and we've got all the details on just about any phone that may strike your fancy. There's Google's own Pixel smartphone, for example, of which you can check out our review here. If you're still rocking an ancient Motorola phone, check out what the company has been up to in the last couple years. And, of course, there's the flagship Galaxy S8 (review here).

Looking for something a bit cheaper than the Galaxy S8? There are a bunch of great options, including Samsung's Galaxy J3, Sony's Xperia L1, ZTE's Max XL, and much, much more.