Memories from the Galaxy S4 and S5 coming back here. It was a fun journey.
Google announced that Google Play Services would be dropped for Android 4.4 “KitKat”. So, for the 0.1% of you who still own a phone running it, either replace it or run a custom ROM.
The announcement originated from the Android Developers Blog where API levels 19 and 20 would not get update 23.30.99, which includes KitKat. It will no longer receive any form of updates and therefore, be declared dead. This also means devices running it are now rendered unusable and obsolete.
Although obsolete, KitKat is a significant update that paved the way for modern Android versions. This is where Android Go got its head start and it was also the update that prioritized low-power devices so they could run smoothly.
Moreover, users were given a lot more freedom to customize the interface, starting with KitKat. Users can now change the launcher and on-screen elements. It was also the first version to introduce NFC onto Android devices, a feature that is now very common today, even on budget devices. It also paved the way for native IR Blaster support which can be seen now on a number of Xiaomi devices, as well as on phones like the OnePlus Nord 3 and Oppo Reno 10 Pro+
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