Niantic Labs, the powerhouse brand behind the Pokemon Go app games have announced that from the next major update to the app in October, older Android and iOS devices will no longer be able to use, launch or play the games from the affected devices.
In an upcoming update to Pokémon GO in October, we will end support for Android 5, iOS 10, and iOS 11, as well as iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 devices. Trainers with devices not specifically listed here will not be affected and don’t need to take any action.
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) August 31, 2020
The news, coming from Pokemon Go’s Twitter account, advised that users who play the game from Android 5 or older devices, along with iOS devices that run iOS 10 and iOS 11 such as the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and 6s, will not be able to open the app even if they can upload iOS 12 regardless.
Niantic haven’t stated as to the exact reason as to why these devices could be cut off, but given this has happened previously and the fact that augmented reality games can be more technically demanding than non-AR titles, it is no surprise.
The company has stated that it won’t provide support for technical issues if you find a way to keep the game running on these older devices even if you’re able to upgrade the mobile OS.
Niantic has previously announced three weeks of Mega Evolution-themed events for September, starting with a Mega Pidgeot event that started yesterday the 1st and will run through to the 7th September. This is to be followed by raids to unlock Mega Houndoom from September 11th through to the 17th, with the final Mega-Evolution themed event, Timed Research story will run from September 22nd through the 28th.
If you’re a Pokemon Go user and could be affected by this outage, it might be worth considering other options as the new major update will begin rolling out from mid-October 2020, though no exact date was provided, so you still have over a month to look for new options.
