Samsung Health Monitor ends support for nearly half of Android users

Samsung is readying Android 15 update with One UI 7 on top, but starting December 23, 2024, Samsung Health Monitor will no longer support Android versions 11 and below, marking a big change for millions of users. According to Android distribution stats from May 2024, nearly 49% of Android users are still on these older versions. With Samsung being the leading Android vendor, it’s likely that a significant portion of these users have Samsung devices, making this a major shift for the company’s loyal user base.

Here’s a breakdown of the affected Android versions:

• Android 11 – 19.0%
• Android 10 – 13.6%
• Android 9 (Pie) – 8.4%
• Older versions – Another 7.8% combined

In total, 48.8% of Android users may soon see their Samsung Health Monitor functionality limited unless they upgrade to Android 12 or higher. While Samsung hasn’t specified how many of its own users are on these versions, its dominance in the Android market means that this change will impact many Samsung device owners. This notice arrived as a recent update to the Samsung Health Monitor app version 1.3.6.001.

Each Android version upgrade introduces new capabilities that older systems can’t always handle effectively. Samsung Health Monitor’s latest version, v1.4.1, likely includes features that need the improved performance and security of newer OS versions. By focusing on Android 12 and above, Samsung can streamline updates and introduce more advanced health-monitoring features.

Though users on Android 11 and below will still have limited access to Samsung Health Monitor, Samsung strongly encourages upgrading for full functionality. This shift reflects a wider industry trend, where tech companies increasingly prioritize resources for users on newer platforms.

This move also highlights a longstanding Android issue: fragmentation. Unlike iOS, where updates are more uniformly adopted, Android users are spread across multiple versions. For Samsung, the leader in Android devices, balancing legacy support with innovation is challenging. However, with nearly half of Android users on older versions, Samsung likely weighed this decision carefully.

For Samsung users on older Android versions, upgrading to Android 12 or considering a device upgrade might be necessary to continue accessing Samsung Health Monitor’s full capabilities. This needs to happen before December 23, 2024.