In another stunning example of cancel culture, Google is cancelling Android Gingerbread, otherwise known as Android 2.3.7. As well as every other Android device running an earlier version of the operating system.
This isn’t isn’t going to render your ‘it-belongs-in-a-museum’ device inoperable, but it is going to have a considerable affect on the (probably already limited) functionality of whatever piece of history you’re using.
It’s the Android Gingerbread, man
According to a Google support document (first located by Liliputing), “As part of our ongoing efforts to keep our users safe, Google will no longer allow sign-in on Android devices that run Android 2.3.7 or lower starting September 27, 2021.”
Basically, users of those devices will find that sign-ins no longer work, locking them out of Gmail, their personal YouTube accounts, and Google Maps. Basically, all the cool bits of the Google ecosystem will stop working. The company also pointed out all the various ways you can get yourself booted out of your Android Gingerbread device — by making a new account, changing your password or factory resetting the thing.
But it shouldn’t be a problem for most. Android 2.3.7 is so old that we don’t even have any posts on this website stretching back to 2011, which is when the operating system first launched. Still, if you know anyone who is still surgically bonded to their Galaxy SII, now might be a good time to pry it from their protesting hands.