Android 8.x will not be supported by the next version of the Fitbit app

[asiayeah]

"As of December 2022, 8.17% of Android devices ran Android Oreo, with 5.11% on Android 8.1 (API 27) and 2.06% on Android 8.0 (API 26)."

It's a pity the current fitbit app 3.75 will be the last version to support Android 8.x. Although there are still a few percentages of Android users still on 8.1. It's interesting to know how many fitbit users are still using 8.x, however. Any idea? Does it impact you?

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity.

[LZeeW]

@asiayeah   This Android Support page says that Google stopped giving security updates to Android 8 some time ago.  I think any affected user who can't upgrade to Android 9 should think about upgrading their phone -- with or without the Fitbit app.

[RodrigoMFitbit · Accepted solution]

@LZeeW Thanks for your input. That is great advice. 

@asiayeah Thanks for your input and concern about the new requirements for the Fitbit app. It seems that the fact that Google stopped giving security updates to Android 8 devices is the reason for the change. 

The whole idea of a security update is to identify those flaws and provide patches for them to prevent hackers or any malicious individual from exploiting them. Apart from patching flaws, Android security updates also ensure that your device is up-to-date, receives new features, and delivers improved performance. Therefore it is recommended to either upgrade your phone´s operating system or your smartphone altogether in case there is no newer Android version available for it.