Waze will soon stop updating for old and not-so-old versions of Android
In the beta version of Waze for Android (version 5.9.90 and higher), the minimum supported Android version has been raised to Android 10. Previously, the app worked on devices running Android 8 and later. Some beta users are already seeing notifications: Waze no longer supports Android 9. Although the app is still available, new features and updates will only be available on Android 10 and above. This transition may be made to the stable version soon - it usually takes about a week or two after the beta release. As of the beginning of the year, only 5.8% of Android devices were running Android 9 or earlier, so most users will not experience any immediate problems. It remains to be seen which features of the system, which are not available in Android prior to version 10, the navigator is going to use.
Google Maps supports Android 8+ and remains a viable alternative. Also, older versions of Waze installed now from the Play Market or downloaded later from third-party app stores will continue to work for some time.
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Long-term support for Android devices is a well-known problem. While major manufacturers provide at least 2 years of updates, smaller companies are less guilty of not working on system updates at all. In addition, some Chinese manufacturers release new devices with Android one or two years old. Google has introduced Project Treble, but the complex Android ecosystem continues to create barriers to updates.
Source: 9to5google.com
