Waze KILLS Support for Older Android Devices – Your Phone Is DOOMED!
Hello everyone. Gather around, because it’s time to talk about the latest episode in the long-running series called “Tech companies arbitrarily dictating when your perfectly fine device should be turned into a digital paperweight.” Today’s protagonist – or perhaps antagonist – is none other than Waze, the once-beloved navigation app now fully under Google’s all-seeing corporate gaze. And they’ve decided that if your Android version has the audacity to be at or below 9 Pie, you’re out of the update club.
The Surgical Strike on Old Devices
As of version v5.9.90, Waze now requires Android 10 or later. Translation: If you thought you could keep that trusty old phone or tablet running in your car as a dedicated GPS without pleasing the software gods, think again. They’ve cut support for anything older, citing progress, innovation, and probably the alignment of the planets as reasons. The app will still run – for now – but like an untreated wound, it’ll quietly get worse over time with no security patches, no shiny new features, and eventually, the creeping dread of obsolescence.
And let’s be honest – this isn’t shocking. Apps often abandon devices like a raid party ditching the under-leveled healer mid-dungeon. It’s all fun and games until your quest marker disappears and you’re left wandering the digital wilderness with an outdated map.
The “It Still Works… For Now” Argument
Yes, technically, you can still run Waze on Android 9 and below… but without updates. That’s like telling a patient they’re “totally fine” after discontinuing their medication – until something goes horribly wrong. Critical bug fix? Nope. Security patch? Forget it. Crazy new feature that everyone’s raving about? Better hope you enjoy living in the past.
For many people, those older devices are perfect in-car companions – no SIM required, just Wi-Fi to update maps and off you go. But Google’s policy shift has made it quite clear: they’d rather you buy a newer phone. Call me cynical, but isn’t it strange how “secure” and “progress-focused” decisions just happen to align beautifully with hardware sales incentives? Pure coincidence, I’m sure.
Possible Ways to Survive This Update Apocalypse
- Keep using your current setup until it inevitably breaks – then rage-quit Waze entirely.
- Upgrade to a device running Android 10 or above – and feed the cycle of consumerism.
- Switch to another navigation app that still supports your antique hardware.
- Dust off an actual paper map – radical, analog, and entirely immune to version requirements.
Let’s not forget, they even suggest that “this app still supports devices with Android 8 or higher” in some documentation, which is frankly confusing because they’ve just raised the requirement to Android 10. Either someone at Waze forgot to update their own FAQ, or they’ve joined the grand conspiracy of tech gaslighting. Both are equally believable.
Final Verdict
This whole move feels like a boss fight everybody saw coming – scripted, predictable, and utterly devoid of mercy for those clinging to their old gear. Is it technically justified? Sure, old systems have security holes. Is it also a convenient way to strong-arm users into upgrading hardware they didn’t need to replace? Absolutely. At the end of the day, Waze works… for now. But the writing’s on the wall, and it’s written in firmware updates you’ll never get.
My overall impression? Bad. Not because it’s unexpected, but because it’s yet another reminder that in the tech world, your loyalty counts for nothing if you’re using “old” tools. Spare me the innovation speech – just tell me when the respawn timer runs out so I can plan accordingly.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Article source: Waze deja de dar soporte a estos dispositivos Android antiguos. Qué va a pasar si usas la app en tu móvil
