_posts: Add images

_posts/2024-07-03-the-end-of-whatsapp.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ title: The end of WhatsApp on KaiOS as we know it
 
 <img class="leo" src="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/images/blog/2024-07-04-11-35-05.png" align="right" width="240" height="320" style="width:240px" alt="Screenshot of the error message in WhatsApp, with a yellow warning sign and a text which reads Something went wrong">
 
-***This is a observational/commentary blog post and should not be taken as official statements.***
+***This is a observational/commentary blog post and should NOT be taken as official statements.***
 
 On June 26, several Reddit users reported on r/KaiOS that they were unable to sign up for WhatsApp after buying their KaiOS phones. When they tried to download and open WhatsApp for the first time, they saw a warning sign that simply read “Something went wrong.” with no further clarification.
 
@@ -19,17 +19,22 @@ Monitoring the phone’s network traffic over a proxy shows that this message is
 
 Then, on July 3, WhatsApp decided to trigger the "time bomb" early for users staying on older versions, displaying a full-screen Critical Error message and [forcing users to update to the latest version via KaiStore](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaiOS/comments/1du50sr/i_found_the_solution_guys_you_just_have_to_set/).
 
-Following this, Reddit users reached out to customer support services of WhatsApp, HMD, KaiOS Technologies, Jio, and others. While WhatsApp and KaiOS Technologies have yet to comment, HMD’s online chat support stated that [there would be a hotfix OTA update “very soon.”](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaiOS/comments/1dp9ubt/comment/lanjcla/) Only Jio’s service center has confirmed that [WhatsApp would no longer be supported on KaiOS 2.5](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaiOS/comments/1dp9ubt/comment/lb9gej5/), there would be no upcoming app updates, and this news will be publicly announced soon.
+Following this, Reddit users reached out to customer support services of WhatsApp, HMD, KaiOS Technologies, Jio and others. While WhatsApp and KaiOS Technologies have yet to comment, HMD’s online chat support promised that [there would be a hotfix OTA update “very soon.”](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaiOS/comments/1dp9ubt/comment/lanjcla/) So far, only Jio’s service center stated that [WhatsApp would no longer be supported on KaiOS 2.5](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaiOS/comments/1dp9ubt/comment/lb9gej5/), there would be no upcoming app updates, and this news would be publicly announced soon.
+
+<p style="text-align:center">
+    <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/images/blog/wa-hmd.png" height="450" style="display:inline-block" alt="Screenshot of HMD customer support chat">
+    <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/images/blog/wa-support.jpeg" height="425" style="display:inline-block" alt="Screenshot of WhatsApp support chat, telling user to keep themselves up-to-date with WhatsApp Help Centre and WhatsApp Blog">
+</p>
 
 Some users [discovered a workaround](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaiOS/comments/1dp9ubt/comment/lahl3bo/) by installing an older version of the client, 2.2329.10, changing the date of the phone back between June 28 and July 1, setting up their accounts, and then updating again to the latest version through KaiStore. But a day later, when users received a verification code for their phone number via SMS, the app checked the time and latest version number, then threw the Critical Error message and prevented them from signing up.
 
 All of which lead us to the possibility that WhatsApp could eventually drop support for KaiOS devices.
 
 2018 was a significant year for KaiOS, with the global release of the Nokia 8110 4G and the rising popularity of affordable JioPhones in India&#8212;a country where mobile payments among small and medium businesses are rapidly growing. A few months before, [Google invested $22 millions](https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/28/17513036/google-kaios-investment-feature-phones-firefox-os-apps-services-strategy) and announced it would bring its services, Search, Maps, YouTube and Assistant onto the platform. Meta Platforms Inc., then known as Facebook Inc., and WhatsApp anticipated this and partnered with KaiOS Technologies, by [bringing WhatsApp](https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20703872/whatsapp-kaios-nokia-8110-jio-phone-feature-phones) and Facebook to KaiOS devices, hoping to attract more users to their services.
 
-Since then, these partnerships have been unstable and at times appear to have parted ways: Google and Jio collaborated to develop the JioPhone Next, which runs Android Go but hasn't gained much recognition; KaiOS Technologies has been investing more on African nations and the US in recent years; and HMD hasn't released any new KaiOS devices globally since 2020. KaiOS 2.5 phones have not been well-received by the public, being seen as laggy and lacking popular apps. The codebase, based on Gecko 48 from 2016, has also gradually introduced more vulnerabilities and technical limitations.
+Since then, these partnerships have been unstable and at times appear to have parted ways: Google and Jio collaborated to [develop the JioPhone Next](https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/29/22752388/india-google-smartphone-jiophone-pixel), which runs Android Go but hasn't gained much recognition; KaiOS Technologies has been [investing more on African nations and the US](https://www.kaiostech.com/kaios-was-at-ces-tech-event-2024/) in recent years; and HMD hasn't released any new KaiOS devices globally since 2020. KaiOS 2.5 phones have not been well-received by the public, being seen as laggy and lacking popular apps. The codebase, based on Gecko 48 from 2016, has also gradually introduced more vulnerabilities and technical limitations.
 
-In 2021, KaiOS Technologies collaborated with Mozilla to update the Gecko codebase to a more recent Gecko 84 from 2020, which should introduce new web technologies to KaiOS. KaiOS 3 phones, despite their potential, are almost exclusive to the United States. Although applications from older versions can be easily updated and tested for compatibility with v3, app developers are reluctant due to the lack of debug-enabled devices outside the US, and device manufacturers are hesitant to produce v3 devices due to the lack of sales and interest from carriers.
+In 2021, KaiOS Technologies [collaborated with Mozilla to update the Gecko codebase](https://www.ghacks.net/2020/03/14/firefox-os-successor-mozilla-and-kaios-announce-partnership/) to a more recent Gecko 84 from 2020, which should introduce new web technologies to KaiOS. KaiOS 3 phones, despite their potential, are almost exclusive to the United States. Although applications from older versions can be easily updated and tested for compatibility with v3, app developers are reluctant due to the lack of debug-enabled devices outside the US, and device manufacturers are hesitant to produce v3 devices due to the lack of sales and interest from carriers.
 
 Google [started dropping support for KaiOS](https://9to5google.com/2021/08/30/google-assistant-kaios-text/) in August of the same year, as Google Assistant lost the abilities to call, text, or toggle controls on your phone. The following year, device manufacturers released updates to entirely remove Assistant from KaiOS phones. On newer KaiOS versions, the YouTube app became just a shortcut to the YouTube website. To combat this, KaiOS Technologies developed its own version of Assistant, KaiVA, but it didn't take off beyond some newly released devices.
 
@@ -58,7 +63,7 @@ While these are only my observations, if these are true, looks like WhatsApp has
 The good news is, as people inspect and compare the code between the 2.2329.10 and 2.2329.13 versions, some noticed a few new files which indicates that WhatsApp might be working on some forms of device companion features on KaiOS, comparable to WhatsApp Web or multi-device on Android or iOS:
 
 <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/KaiOS/comments/1dp9ubt/comment/lbfk6oz/">
-    <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/images/blog/compare-wa-version.png" alt="Screenshot of a full-screen Visual Studio Code window. In the left sidebar there is a Only in compared folder section, which lists several files, one of which is a JavaScript named addCompanionDeviceScreen">
+    <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/assets/images/blog/wa-vscode.png" width="100%" height="100%" alt="Screenshot of a full-screen Visual Studio Code window. In the left sidebar there is a Only in compared folder section, which lists several files, one of which is a JavaScript named addCompanionDeviceScreen">
 </a>
 
 *Kudos to [@fabricedesre](https://github.com/fabricedesre) and [@Tombarr](https://barrasso.me/) for fact-checking information in this blog post. OpenAI's GPT-4o was used to edit this blog post for natural wording.*