New Pokémon Go Update Will No Longer Work on Older IOS Devices
iOS: If the kid who doubles down as a monster-fighter in your life is addicted to catching oddly shaped fictional animals (or if you’re addicted to gambling yourself), you better hope they have a new phone on which to play their favorite the game. Pokémon Go developer Niantic has announced an upcoming update that will include Apple’s ARKit, which will lead to a better augmented reality experience, but not running iOS 11 while playing a game on disabled devices. Sorry sneakers.
Niantic announced that the change will take place at the end of February. After that date, Niantic says, trainers using affected devices may no longer be able to access their Pokémon GO accounts from that device, or use their PokéCoins or other items in their bags. They will need to switch to a supported device to continue playing Pokémon GO. ” Needless to say, it sucks. It also makes the game unplayable for people who don’t want to buy a new phone to keep throwing digital balls at nonexistent animated monsters.
Here’s a list of devices that will no longer support Pokémon Go as of February 28th:
- Iphone 5c
- iPhone 5
- iPad (4th generation)
- iPad (3rd generation)
- iPad mini (1st generation)
- iPad 2
Chances are, if you are an adult, you have since upgraded to a more recent phone. However, Pokémon Go’s supposedly target audience is kids, most of whom definitely don’t have a smartphone upgrade plan that they pay for on a monthly basis.
On the other hand, enterprising young people could always use this to their advantage and convince gullible parents to trade this outdated phone for a newer model. After all, the game still works on older smartphones iPhone 5s and iPhone 6. Gotta catch them all, right?