Google Says will Stop Android Play Services Support For Lower Versions Of Android in Early 2017.

You'd be surprised to know that are some fellows who still own and use Gingerbread or Honeycomb Android phones. Unfortunately, Google has announced that it'll terminated delivering support to lower versions of Android, with Gingerbread ( Android 2.3–2.3.7) and Honeycomb (Android 3.0–3.2.6)  in mind. Google has already made announcements terminating supports of lower versions pf Android, and recently, confirmed that the release of version 10.2.0 of GooglePlay in early 2017 will mark the end of support for both Gingerbread ( Android 2.3–2.3.7) and Honeycomb (Android 3.0–3.2.6).  

In terms of technology age, Honeycomb and Gingerbread are now old and outdated, many Android developers have stopped rendering support for their apps in both versions of the operating System, Doug Stevenson, a developer advocate explains. He also stated that the version 10.0.0 of Google Play, will be the last version that will support Android API level 9 or Android 2.3 Gingerbread, thereby making version 10.2.0, the first version of Google Play that won't support lower version. 

Figures from the latest survey reveals that only 1.3% of Android users are still on lower versions of Android, and, the platforms has been in existence for more than half a decade now, so terminating support for older versions of Android, will assist developers in focus more on building better apps that would make use of the newer capabilities of the latest Android operating systems, Stevenson added.

This does not mean that owners of Honeycomb or Gingerbread phone phones will have to throw them away, but what Google is saying is that those phones will incompatible for most of it's apps, because they will be developed with the SDK for version 10.2. You can continue using your device after the discontinuation, but most of the available won't run or install in your phone because of the incompatibility. 

With this new development, I sense that its gradually come to a time when Google will also quit support for ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich, Android version 4.0–4.0.4). to avoid being disconnected from technology, it is advised that you upgrade to a newer, higher supported version of Android, or you can always trade that your old phone for a new one.

Bear in mind that Google Play services is used to update Google apps and apps from Google Play. It is an in-built feature of every Google's Android phone that provides core functionality like authentication to your Google services, synchronized contacts, access to all the latest user privacy settings, and higher quality, lower-powered location based services, etc. So not upgrading now, will make you have Nokia torch light phone, called Android