What you need to know
- Google will discontinue official support for Android Lollipop OS, which debuted with Nexus 6.
- Also known as Android 5.0, it was widely popular for introducing Material You to Android devices.
- The said OS will no longer receive Google Play Updates, citing that less than one percent of active devices are running it.
If you are one of the first owners of a Nexus 6 device, you were likely introduced to Android Lollipop for the first time, and it was surprisingly ten years ago. Google first introduced it in November 2014, and now, the official support is finally ending.
As 9to5Google points out, Google is discontinuing the Google Play Services updates to Android Lollipop devices starting this month. Per Google Spokesperson’s statement to the publication, the reason for putting a nail in the coffin is the percentage of active Android Lollipop devices, which is said to be accounting for less than one percent at the moment. This has been a tradition followed by Google for its past versions of Android.
For instance, the previous iteration of Lollipop, Android KitKat, released 11 years ago, also had less than one percent active devices last July. Google chose to stop the release of Google Play Services. This year appears no different, as more and more Android phones are looking forward to the Android 15 update, which is likely happening after the Made by Google event on August 13.
Those wondering if the Android Lollipop devices are losing Google Play Services support will continue to work. Yes, they will; it is just that users won’t be receiving “any new features, important security updates, and may not be compatible with some apps.”
The latter’s been the case with most sensitive apps already, like banking apps and popular social media apps, as they only support the previous three or four iterations of Android versions.
Nonetheless, Android Lollipop, aka Android 5.0, has been special for Google as it introduced Material You for the first time in 2014 to its popular Nexus devices—followed by a nifty update dubbed Android 5.1 the following year.
As 9to5 notes, dropping official support only means Google will prioritize the latest devices and upcoming operating systems, like Android 15. With Lollipop out of the race, Marshmallow handsets will likely be next in the line.