Looks like older iPhone users will have to upgrade their phone if they still want to be the very best. Niantic has recently announced that they will be ending support for all Apple devices that can’t upgrade to iOS 11. This would mean that any Apple device purchased in 2012 or earlier will not be able to support the game anymore
Niantic has explained that due to the changes that they are applying to the game, the older iOS will not be able to keep up with the demands of the game hence, after February 28, users will not be able to access their account. This is due to the change in the AR feature of Pokemon Go, as they have fully embraced the ARKit that Apple has released to developers, improving AR features and capabilities in developers’ applications. Pokemon Go has gone through some big improvements in gameplay and visuals as Pokemon now have fixed position and scales in size depending on the distance. There are also special weather effects, improved gym battles and rumours indicate that PVP is finally in development.
If you are worried about losing your progress when you switch over to a new phone, worry not, as long as you sign in with the same Google account that you did in the old phone, you will get to continue your progress without losing anything.