It’s entirely possible that you’re one of those folks still playing Pokémon Go. And, if you are, it’s about time you start paying attention to your Android and iOS versions because the popular AR game is about to drop support for a few older operating system versions.
Pokémon Go is evolving
Long story short, if you’re using an Android smartphone that still runs Android 5.0 Lollipop (yes, we know, but there are still some folks out there) to play Pokémon Go then you’d best look at upgrading either your operating system or your smartphone. Developer Niantic is dropping support for the OS, as well as for two Apple smartphones.
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
That’s right, if you’re using an iPhone 5S or an iPhone 6 (and we know there are a few of you out there) then you’re also out of luck. Your Pokémon-catching machine is about to become obsolete. While the Android handsets are being kicked off because the OS is ageing (in addition to the low spec of devices in question), the iPhones listed are in the firing line because those handsets only have 1GB of RAM. Niantic has a few new features coming up and don’t want to hold back development to support these older devices.
But odds are, given that you’re reading Stuff, you’re not likely to be affected by this change. It only kicks off from October this year, so you’ve got a little time to prepare for the change-up and maybe move a little closer to 2019 (we’re trying to pretend 2020 just isn’t happening. Deal with it).