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Buh-bye Jelly Bean? Chrome on Android now only supports KitKat 4.4. or higher

Android Jelly Bean has lost support for Chrome. (Source: The Droid Guy)
Android Jelly Bean has lost support for Chrome. (Source: The Droid Guy)
Older Android devices that still run Jelly Bean (JB) - or the versions of the OS from 4.1 to 4.3 - will no longer be able to run Google Chrome. The minimum API level for this app is being reset to 4.4 (or KitKat). This may not seem like a big deal; however, millions of devices out there still run JB.
Android Phablet Smartphone Tablet Software

Fans of Android must be extremely used to seeing '4.1-4.3 or higher' among the minimum requirements for their new apps on the Google Play Store. However, for one major example of these, that is no longer the case. Google Chrome has excluded these version numbers from its list of supported Android OS variants.

Version 4.1 to 4.3 of Android is also known as Jelly Bean (JB). Until very recently, devices that still run them were also able to run Google Chrome. However, according to new source code, the minimum OS level for the browser's app-programming interface (API) will be 4.4 (KitKat) in the future. It may not seem like a big deal, especially to users with access to the latest version of the OS (Pie/9.0). 

Nevertheless, all JB versions still make up about 3.5% of the total Android market share. As this represents at least 2 billion users, JB currently runs on the phones of as much as 70 million people. Therefore, this move to obviate it in terms of app support could result in consequences for Google.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2018 10 > Buh-bye Jelly Bean? Chrome on Android now only supports KitKat 4.4. or higher
Deirdre O Donnell, 2018-10- 6 (Update: 2018-10- 6)