Backward compatible media can’t last forever. The Ice Cream Sandwich one ended in 2018 and now it’s the turn of Android Jelly Bean: its Support on Google Play Services will end in August 2021.
Android 4.1 JellyBean was officially launched in 2012, covering three versions of the API (16, 17 and 18), the last one already in 2013. According to Google, it is present in less than 1% of current Android devices. End of support indicates that as of August will not receive new versions of Google Services.
It will continue to work for the moment
Google Play Services act as a bridge between Android and functionalities added on by Google. By upgrading separately, it is possible carry new functions to old versions that it has been many years since they stopped updating. A recent example is Share with Nearby.
Porting this functionality to older versions results in the occasional headache, and Google acknowledges that “not all functionality has been ported to JellyBean.” As a consequence, the company has decided leave support for Jelly Bean in Google Play Services as of August 2021.
Android Jelly Bean
This means that there will be no new versions of Google Play Services after that date, but current version will continue to work, as well as the applications that need this version of the Google Play Services. However, when they stop updating, it is a matter of time that more and more applications require a more modern version of the services that in Jelly Bean will not exist.
Developers have two options: increase the minimum API to 19 (Android KitKat), or create different versions of your applications: one that takes advantage of the latest version of Google Services and another for Jelly Bean, that uses the latest version available for this version of Android. As a user, there is not much you can do.
More information | Google
