Google Play Services Updates End for Android Lollipop

Google today “is discontinuing Google Play Services updates for devices running Android Lollipop.” Android 5.0 became stable in November 2014, and Lollipop accounted for less than 1% of active devices.

With the introduction of the first iteration of Material Design on Android, version 5.1 Lollipop was released in March 2015.

When Android phones and tablets stop receiving monthly OS updates and security patches, they will continue to receive new versions of Google Play Services. This backend service powers a range of first-party features, such as backup and two-factor authentication, as well as other capabilities for app developers.

Google stops updating Play Services for versions of Android when there are few active device accounts, and Lollipop (API levels 21 and 22) currently have less than 1%. Dropping support allows the company to focus on devices with more powerful hardware and newer operating systems that support modern features.

With the end of these updates, Android Lollipop devices will continue to work, but they “will not receive any new features, important security updates, and may not be compatible with some apps” that rely on Google services. Play Services ended support for Android 4.4 KitKat in July of last year.

Google Play Services updates are currently available for Android 6.0 (API level 23) and above.

“Android Lollipop was first released in November 2014, almost 10 years ago, and since then we’ve introduced many innovative improvements and features for Android that are not available in Lollipop. Today we’re discontinuing Google Play Services updates for Android Lollipop devices because they represent less than 1% of active Android devices. Lollipop devices will continue to work, but they won’t receive any new features, important security updates, and may not be compatible with some apps. We strongly encourage users to upgrade to newer versions of Android to get the latest features and security improvements.”

Google spokesperson