An upcoming Pokemon GO update will discontinue support for iPhones and other Apple devices that can’t upgrade to iOS 11, including the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c.
In a post published on the Pokemon GO website, developer Niantic explained how a new update to the augmented reality game would “push the application beyond the capabilities of the operating systems on such devices.” Dedicated players with older iOS devices don’t have much time to prepare themselves for this update, with it set to take effect on February 28th, 2018.
When these changes take place, Pokemon GO players will no longer be able to access their accounts from these devices, though all of the items, Pokemon and PokeCoins in their accounts can be transferred over to another device.
Read the update in full below:
“Trainers,
In an upcoming update to Pokemon GO, we will end support for Apple devices not capable of upgrading to iOS 11, such as iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c models. This change is a result of improvements to Pokemon GO that push the application beyond the capabilities of the operating systems on such devices. This change will take effect on 02/28/2018. After that date, Trainers using affected devices may no longer be able to access their Pokémon GO accounts from that device, or use their PokeCoins or other items in their Bags. They will need to switch to a supported device to continue playing Pokemon GO.”
Niantic hasn’t revealed whether a similar change will come to Android devices, though if this move is as a result of the company making use of newer technology, then this will likely be the case.
