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It's a miracle your Jelly Bean phone still works, but Google's gonna change that
The end of Play Services updates is the last nail in the coffin for Android 4.1-4.3
If you're still using an Android phone from the first half of the last decade, it might be time to upgrade. If not for all the many already-obvious reasons, then for one more today: Google has just discontinued Play Services updates for all phones running Android 4.1-4.3 Jelly Bean after August 2021. As part of the news, Google has also revealed that Jelly Bean phones now account for less than 1% of active devices as of July 2021.
First, we heard that KitKat would bring some changes to the API, breaking many of the SMS apps we've come to rely on. On the day KitKat was released, we were given a more full explanation, shining some light on the technical details and exactly what types of apps would be affected. But did anybody really think this was the end of the story? It turns out that a hidden permission exists which can still grant non-default apps the right to modify the SMS database just like they used to - no rooting required.
The next version of Android is bringing a lot of visual options to the table, and they're not just for Google to play with. Buried deep within the KitKat 4.4 API (level 19) is the ability for apps to request translucent system UI overlays, specifically on the top notification bar and the bottom navigation bar (if your device has one). You can see this feature in action in all the promotional photos of the Nexus 5's homescreen, where the wallpaper is visible form the top of the screen to the bottom.
In a post on the Android Developers Blog earlier today, Google has given us yet another indicator of upcoming changes to the Android platform. When KitKat launches, it will finally introduce a public API for the last remaining functions texting apps could not achieve without diving into private APIs. Developers are often advised to stay away from private APIs since they can change with each new version and may not be kept consistent across different OEMs.