It’s been a long journey but the time for Gingerbread 2.3 is coming to an end. According to Google, Google Play Services 10.0.x will be the last release to support the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). From now on the minimum Android version supported by the new Play Services(10.2) will be Android 4.0.1 (Ice Cream Sandwich) so devices supporting Android 2.3 Gingerbread can be considered as an obsolete. Which means Gingerbread users, you guys need to upgrade to a new device soon.
According to the stats from Google, 1.3% of all Androids still run Gingerbread. Similarly, Android 4.0.1 (Ice Cream Sandwich) also has the same number of running devices i.e. 1.3% which leaves us with the question that how longer it will survive too. The reason Google are dropping the support off Gingerbread is that it’s quite old — released back in 2011(almost 6 years old) — and most of the developers have already stopped working for the Gingerbread app. However, the change is touted to bring and provide a more resilient collection of tools for Android developers with greater speed. Bear in mind, the support is only dropped off from Google Play Services so developers could still choose to include Gingerbread on their support list(though we don’t know why would they do that).
Source: Google
