Google Calendar will soon drop support for devices

Google Calendar is a popular app that millions of people use to manage their everyday lives. It allows users to create events, schedule meetings, and set reminders. However, if you are still holding on to an older Android device running Nougat 7.1 or below, your days of using this app on your device are numbered.

The change was first noticed by AssembleDebug from TheSpAndroid who discovered a new flag in the newest version of the Google Calendar app (v 2023.46.0-581792699-release) called “UnsupportedOperatingSystem__enabled,” which is used to display a message to users who are running an unsupported operating system. The particular message found within this flag informs users that they need to update their device to Android Oreo (8.0) or higher in order to continue using Google Calendar.

The reason for dropping support for older Android versions is likely due to security concerns. Older versions of Android are more vulnerable to hacks and data loss, and Google wants to make sure that its users are protected. Additionally, newer versions of Android offer a number of new features and improvements that are not available on older versions. As a result, Google is encouraging users to update their devices to the latest version of Android.

Google announced a similar change earlier this month for Chrome both on desktop and Android, stating that Chrome version 119 on Android would be the last version supported on devices running Nougat and lower. Chrome 120 on Android no longer supports Android Nougat.

It is important to note that this will most likely not be the last of Google’s apps that will undergo this change. Android Nougat 7.1, released in 2016, is now a seven year old version of the operating system. Although Google has not yet officially announced dropping support for Android Nougat for Google Calendar, the evidence found in the flags suggests that this change is imminent. As a result, users with older devices should start planning to update their devices to newer versions of Android.