Fans of Pokemon Go who haven’t upgraded their phones or tablets since 2013 or earlier are about to have to find a new way to catch ’em all. On Tuesday, developer Niantic announced that it will be ending support for Apple devices incapable of upgrading to iOS 11 in an upcoming update for the popular mobile game.
Niantic explains that this change is due to the fact that improvements to Pokemon Go are pushing the app beyond the capabilities of older versions of the mobile operating system. Therefore, following February 28th, 2018, Pokemon Go players on affected devices will no longer be able to log into their accounts or use items in-game.
“Trainers using affected devices will need to switch to a device that meets our supported device requirements to continue to access Pokémon GO,” Niantic explains on a support page which lists all of the devices that will no longer support the game. “Trainers who attempt to access Pokémon GO using any of the devices listed above will no longer be able to sign in and will see a message stating that they need to switch to a supported device.”
Affected devices include the iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPad (4th and 3rd generation), iPad mini (1st generation) and iPad 2. If you’re playing Pokemon Go on any of these devices, you’re going to have no other choice but to upgrade.
While Niantic doesn’t specify which improvements are making non-iOS 11 devices obsolete, the addition of an AR+ mode that utilizes Apple’s ARKit technology was the first sign that Pokemon Go was leaving old devices behind. With more upgrades and new features undoubtedly planned for the coming months and years, having to maintain support for the iPhone 5 would have hamstrung Niantic and kept the game from reaching its potential.
