365 days is a long time, and if there is a pandemic, it looks like it’s been four or five years. During these days we know new apps and games, although we also have to say goodbye to apps, services or any other item related to Android.
One more year we respectfully remember 14 things we said goodbye to Android in 2021. Whether they are the best or not, we chose to remember them fondly in this final farewell before changing the year.
Periscope
Date of death: March 31, 2021
Twitter bought Periscope, the live video streaming app, in 2015, though it never seemed keen on developing it. Instead, they adapted th Periscope features included on Twitter, like its own live video system, Twitter Live.
Twitter announced the shutdown of Periscope last year, although the app continued to operate until March 31, 2021. Since then, its website has not included anything other than a farewell message and the app is no longer available in app stores.
Google Play Music
Date of death: April 7, 2021
We have given up on Google Play Music four or five times, although the app has continued to cling to life, especially in the old preinstalled terminals. The last goodbye – now yes, really – it happened in April. Google Play Music is fading to make way for YouTube Music.
The latest Google Play Music update let you clear data and hide application, with a kind of sepukku digital which is sort of honorable. I wish all abandoned apps would be removed with such grace and efficiency.
The spiritual heritage of BQ mobiles
Date of death: May 10, 2020
To be fair, BQ phones died in March 2019, after more than half of the company was bought by Vietnamese Vinsmart. Then the BQ brand cellphones disappeared, but his spiritual successor were the Vsmart mobiles.
Exactly two years later, in May 2021, Vinsmart was fed up with mobiles. At close its mobile division, BQ’s legacy ended forever, even under a different name. Current terminals will continue to receive support as the company shifts to manufacturing electric vehicles.
Timely
Date of death: May 31, 2021
Timely was one of the most promising alarm and clock apps of Android’s early days. He was distinguished by having a design and animations very developed for the time, so much so that Google bought it back a year after its launch.
After purchase, the app has only been updated a few times. After many years on her own, this year we finally got news of Timely’s state of health. It was not good. The application gone forever on May 31.
Google Measure
Date of death: June 9, 2021
Google’s measurement app came as a surprise in 2018 as the magic mode of use the mobile to measure distances with augmented reality. The app performed quite well despite not being updated frequently, and it suddenly disappeared from Google Play on a gloomy June afternoon.
Google never gave a reason to delete their measurement app and since then we have to use third party apps like AR Ruler to do the same. We will therefore be left with the question of knowing what prompted Google to take these measures, which are worth the redundancy.
“My applications”, in Google Play
Date of death: June 9, 2021
This is a minor change, although after almost six months since then it still arouses some resentment among some users: the reorganization of Google Play menus which meant the disappearance of the classic menu of My applications.
With the new Google Play settings, My apps and games
Free Google Photos Storage
Date of death: July 1, 2021
It was the stab of the year: the end of free storage for Google Photos. The day was expected to come last year, but that didn’t stop the blow from being tough. Since July 1st anything uploaded to Google Photos is deducted from storage. Previously, the reduced quality backup was not delivered.
In this way, the space of Google shared storage, which is normally 15 GB, you’ll end up filling up sooner or later. You will then have to make the decision to delete items, look for alternatives, or purchase Google One storage.
LG mobiles
Date of death: July 31, 2021
After losing streak quarter after quarter and trying to get by with devices as strange as the LG Wing, LG surrendered in the middle of the year: his mobile division would close the doors on July 31.
Existing mobiles are still in operation, of course, and even the company decided to extend the update period and the terminals in stock would continue to be sold. while stocks last. Then eternal silence.
MagiskHide
Date of death: August 30, 2021
The creator of Magisk took a job at Google and then the changes started. Fortunately, Magisk would continue to exist, but with a few changes. To start, not included in new versions of MagiskHide, the system tries to hide that the terminal has been modified.
MagiskHide does not come standard with Magisk, although it is up to other developers to create Magisk modules with a similar function. Of course, you won’t find these mods in Magisk itself, as something else that was left was the modules repository in Magisk.
Google Play Movies
Date of death: September 23, 2021
Google has declared war on Google Play apps. The first to fall was Google Play Music, but it was followed closely by Google Play Movies. This application to buy and rent movies and series more than dying, he transformed.
From night to morning, Google Play Movies has been transformed into Google TV, an application similar to the previous one, but with a more different design and the same name as the Android TV layer. This makes sense, because if there’s something Google loves more than closing apps, it confuses their names.
Android Gingerbread and Jelly Bean
Date of death: September 28, 2021
Android moves forward with new versions every year, but apps can – and should – be backward compatible. This requires additional code and effort in many cases, so periodically support for older versions is removed.
In 2021, Google ended the ability to connect to mobiles with Gingerbread, while official support for Google services has officially ended on Android Jelly Bean. In the latter case, everything will continue to work … until it stops.
Google my maps
Date of death: October 15, 2021
Google has a well-deserved reputation for building apps and then ditching them to fate, and a recent example is the Google My Maps app. It was a separate app from Google Maps with which you could create personalized cards from a mobile.
The app had not been updated since 2019 and after the abandonment period the news came that would no longer be updated. Anyone who wants to create custom maps, uses the Google My Maps website, Google says.
Minecraft Earth and Harry Potter Wizards Unite
Date of death: June 2021 and January 2022
A augmented reality games The magic ran out in 2021 and a second year of a pandemic. Minecraft Earth fell first, after the pandemic shattered the two pillars of the game: “free movement and collaborative play”.
Harry Potter Wizards Unite It also announced its closure last November, not to mention the reasons for the decision. Of course, at least the game will first conclude its story before the final closure, which will take place on January 31, 2022.
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