Pokemon GO recently celebrated its fourth anniversary, which means the popular mobile AR experience has been around for four years of new phone releases and operating system updates. As mobile users would probably expect, a game that updates as frequently as PoGO (multiple times per month) cannot continue to support every mobile device forever. Every once in a while a few older mobile operating systems have to get cut from the list of supported devices and it is time for that culling once again.
Starting in October, a new list of Apple and Android devices will no longer be supported by Pokemon GO. Trainers who aren't using any of the listed phones/OSs don't need to worry about this change at all and their experience should not be hindered. It's also possible that some users on these particular devices may have the option to upgrade to a new operating system and eliminate the coming end of service support.
Most devices released in the last four years are still going to be supported, but players who are still holding on to their iPhone 5s or a handful of other older devices will be impacted by this shift in support. Players who want to know if their devices will be impacted can reference the official tweet from Pokemon GO and the excerpt from the associated press release found below...
"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. Only Trainers with devices running Android 5, iOS 10, or iOS 11, as well as Trainers with iPhone 5s or iPhone 6 devices, will be affected by this change. Trainers with devices or operating systems not specifically listed here will not be affected and don’t need to take any action.
If you're unsure whether your device falls in one of these categories, please check with your device manufacturer.
Trainers using affected devices will no longer be able to access Pokémon GO, including any accumulated PokeCoins or collected items on their accounts, when the version 0.189 update goes live in mid-October. We encourage Trainers using any of the listed devices to consider upgrading them if they wish to continue playing Pokémon GO. Be sure to have your account info and password saved somewhere so you can log back in on a new device!"
Note: Even if you’re able to install and run Pokémon GO on such devices after the release of version 0.189, we’ll no longer be able to provide support if you run into any technical issues.
Luckily, moving a Pokemon GO account from one device to another is very painless. There are a handful of ways players can currently login to PoGO and manage their account, but the transition should be as smooth as just entering the correct email address and password on a supported device to access an account and get back to work playing the mobile AR game. That's obviously assuming the impacted players has the luxury of upgrading to a supported device. The updates shouldn't come as too much of a surprise and hopefully the majority of the user base is already transitioned to new devices and operating systems and can avoid any inconvenience from this change of service.
As of this year, iPhone 11 has been on sale for months, which means that it has been just about six years exactly since the release of the iPhone 6 and about another year back for the release of the iPhone 5s.
Now that the Mega Evolution Special Research event is live and the new mechanic is in place, the festivities should give trainers a good reason to continue catching the best Unova Pokemon in the game and getting closer to that complete Pokedex. Check back for more Pokemon GO updates closer to the event. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.
Source: Pokemon GO Live