I have decided to end support for all BlackBerry phones running OS 4.x and require OS 5.0 or higher for all apps going forwards. Version 3.1 of Pixelated which was updated two weeks ago will be the last update for these devices. Apps that support OS 4.6 and 4.7 will still be available for download in BlackBerry AppWorld, but they will not receive any more updates.

Many Ebscer apps have required a minimum of OS 5.0 for a while now. Twinkle, Liar’s Dice, Xploding Boxes, and 9 Men’s Morris have all required OS 5.0 from the start. The Jack-O-Lantern app has required OS 5.0 since the update to version 2.0 last September, and Binary Clock has done so since the update to version 2.0 in January. Furthermore, many of the new features added to the other apps didn’t apply to the builds for OS 4.x anyhow as they were dependent on API calls such as the BBM API, the purchase API, or the SendMenu API, that are only available in the more recent operating system versions.

Last month showed only 4.6% of BlackBerry users running an OS older then 5.0. This percentage continues to go down every month. At this point there isn’t much need for additional updates on these outdated devices.

If you are still using a device that runs on OS 4.6 you should view this as proof that it is time to get a new phone. Every phone released since mid-2008 (almost four years ago), can be updated to at least OS 5.0 including (now ancient) devices such as the Bold 9000, Curve 8900, and the Nextel branded Curve 8350i. If your phone is even older then that you should have replaced your phone twice by now. If you have a 4.x device that you can’t replace because it was issued to you by your work, you should take it as a sign that your boss hates you, and that you should just quit your job.