14 DAY TRIAL // Unfortunately, Windows phone fans have more or less become used to news of developers leaving the platform for Android and iOS, and Microsoft itself seems to be less keen on stopping this from happening.
State Bank of India has recently announced that it’s discontinuing the app designed for Windows Phone 8.0, but although this could at first glance be terrible news for its customers sticking with Microsoft’s mobile platform, it’s not all as bad as it seems.
According to a notification displayed by the company on devices already running the app, “support for SB Anywhere will be discontinued soon on Windows phones version 8.0 and for security reason on Android versions below 4.2. Regret inconvenience.”
Specifically, what State Bank of India plans to do is discontinue its app developed to run on devices powered by Windows Phone 8.0, so it should continue working flawlessly on Windows Phone 8.1 and on Windows 10 Mobile. On the other hand, there’s no word on a potential universal app, so if you were hoping for a version taking advantage of Microsoft’s latest features, it’s better not to hold your breath for it.
No plans for universal app just yet
Although State of Bank’s decision to pull support for Windows Phone 8.0 is indeed expected to impact some customers, the percentage shouldn’t be too big.
Data provided by AdDuplex for the month of December indicated that Windows Phone 8.1 was running on no less than 77.1 percent of devices, and all of them should be allowed to continue running the app.
Only 4.9 percent of the Windows phones across the world run Windows Phone 8.0, and obviously, only a few of them are in India.
At the same time, seeing State Bank of India pulling support for older OS versions, including Android 4.2, absolutely makes sense, especially given the security risks that such a platform can create.
Mobile banking apps require the best security systems that an operating system can provide, and it goes without saying that older mobile platforms can no longer cope with today’s always-evolving threats putting customers’ data at risk.
