Pokemon Go to Drop Support for Apple Devices that Cannot Be Upgraded to iOS 11

If you’re playing Pokemon Go on an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5c, you won’t be able to for long. Pokemon Go developer Niantic has announced it will be dropping support for Apple devices that cannot be upgraded to iOS 11.

“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,” a post on the official Pokemon Go website reads, further explaining that this has to do due to the lack of OS functionality on older devices.

“This change is a result of improvements to Pokemon Go that push the application beyond the capabilities of the operating systems on such devices,” the post continues.

Niantic says these changes will take place from February 28 this year. After this date, those using Apple devices that cannot be upgraded to iOS 11 will not be able to access their Pokemon Go accounts or use PokeCoins or other items without switching to one of the supported devices on Niantic’s list.

Pokemon Go iPhone and iPad discontinuation list

• iPhone 5c
• iPhone 5
• iPad (4th generation)
• iPad (3rd generation)
• iPad mini (1st generation)
• iPad 2

Nearly a month ago, Pokemon Go developer Niantic announced that Apple devices from the iPhone 6s and above would support AR+ — a new mode that takes advantage of Apple’s ARKit framework for a greater degree of realism.

Thanks to AR+ in Pokemon Go, Pokemon now occupy a fixed point on screen. You can walk up close to a Pokemon and accurately see how it sizes up in the real world. In addition to this, Pokemon are aware of trainers getting close complete with an awareness metre to let you know how close you are to being spotted. Niantic suggests tapping on nearby grass onscreen which could allow Pokemon to reappear if it was aware of your presence.