You can continue using WhatsApp on Nokia and Blackberry

If you still have a Nokia smartphone with Symbian operating system or perhaps a BlackBerry with its own BB OS system, we have good news: despite having announced the interruption of the WhatsApp service for these devices, it has been confirmed that the messaging app will continue being available until June 30, 2017.

WhatsApp takes a break… but wants to get rid of older operating systems

Although WhatsApp has announced that it will extend the life of the messaging application for Nokia devices with Symbian and BlackBerry phones, the company continues with the intention of gradually getting rid of smartphones and operating systems that are becoming obsolete or that use very few users.

WhatsApp will continue to be available for BlackBerry phones with the BB OS operating system (including BB10) and for Nokia smartphones with the Symbian operating system or with the Nokia S40 system until June 30, 2017. This has been confirmed by an official company statement that modifies the date initially planned, end of 2016.

However, in addition to this extension, WhatsApp has announced that another series of devices will no longer have access to the app at the end of December this year, as planned: smartphones with Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system or earlier, with Windows Phone 7 or earlier, and iOS 6 or earlier.

A challenge for the future and alternatives to WhatsApp

WhatsApp has been characterized so far as being an almost universal application, available for the vast majority of smartphones regardless of their age or their characteristics: after all, it is a fairly light app that does not consume too many graphic resources to function.

Now, the race to meet user demands (such as the inclusion of video calls, the sending of gifs and other news) seems to have influenced the company's decision to start removing the application from devices and operating systems that are becoming obsolete to focus on the newer and more widespread versions.

Although it is true that most users already have the latest (or penultimate) versions of the most common operating systems (Android and iOS), not all those who use WhatsApp are prepared for the disappearance of the app. Nor should we forget that sectors and populations with lower purchasing power have very few options to frequently renew their terminals and keep the same telephone number for many years.

Meanwhile, competing applications continue to advance. WhatsApp remains a global favorite for instant messaging, but its removal from older phones and operating systems may take its toll. You can always use alternative apps that are still compatible with those phones, but the best solution would probably be the creation of a lighter and simpler version of WhatsApp (as Facebook did with Facebook Lite) capable of working on less powerful phones or with older operating systems.