I find it a stark reminder of the relentless and ruthless march of technology that, when WhatsApp started in 2009, about 70 percent of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia.

Yet today, mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft account for 99.5% of sales!

The full list of operating systems WhatsApp will stop supporting is:

  • Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
  • Blackberry OS 7 and earlier
  • Blackberry 10
  • Nokia S40
  • Nokia Symbian S60
  • Windows Phone 7.1

If you are still using one of the above and can't survive without WhatsApp, it is time to add a new phone to your Christmas card list for 2016 as this is when it will all stop working.