Back in 2011, when Nokia decided to dump its in-house operating system in favour of Microsoft's Windows Phone as the preferred smartphone platform, Nokia had promised to support Symbian devices till 2016. However, now it looks like Nokia doesn't want any new apps or app updates for Symbian.
According to a
discussion thread on Maemo.org, Nokia has sent an email to developers informing that they won't be able to publish any new content or update existing content for Symbian and MeeGo operating systems, though they'll continue to receive payouts for app purchases.
"If you have Symbian and MeeGo content in the Nokia Store, it will continue to be available for download to customers, and you will continue to receive download and revenue reports as well as payouts for downloaded content. However, starting January 1, 2014, you will no longer be able to publish any new content or update existing content for Symbian and MeeGo," said the email communication.
While the decision to stop accepting new apps may not seem like a big blow, given Symbian and MeeGo aren't exactly a hotbed of app development, the decision means that developers will not be able to offer updates for existing apps either. This is a blow to developers of apps that are linked to other services for which APIs can change from time to time.
For instance, third-party Twitter clients won't be able to offer updates through Nokia's Store after 2014, in case Twitter changes its API. The same would apply to YouTube clients, along with other services linked apps. It's worth pointing out that developers would be able to offer updated apps outside Nokia's Store by hosting installation files on their own sites but that means more things to worry about for the developers.
The announcement comes just after a month of
Nokia agreeing to sell its handset business to Microsoft for 5.44 billion euros. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia shareholders and regulators.
In 2011, after writing a memo that said Nokia was falling behind and lacked the in-house technology to catch up, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop had made the controversial decision to use his former firm Microsoft's Windows Phone for smartphones, rather than Nokia's own software or Google's Android operating system.