After announcing in early June that they would discontinue Pokémon Go on 32-bit Android devices, Niantic has backpedaled.
“In an upcoming update to Pokémon Go at the beginning of August 2020, we will end support for 32-bit Android devices,” the company originally said. “By removing support for 32-bit Android devices, we will be able to streamline our development process and focus resources on supporting newer operating systems and technologies. Android users on 64-bit devices and iOS users are not affected and do not need to take any action.”
The move to end support would mean that Pokémon Go would no longer work on 32-bit Android devices. These devices were generally made pre-2015. Newer phones should be 64-bit. By the way, 32-bit and 64-bit refers to the Android operating system, not the amount of storage.
Aside from being unable to play the game on 32-bit devices, players also would be unable to access PokéCoins and items in the item bag. But after complaints from fans, the discontinuation of support has been pushed back.
“To investigate player concerns, we are now postponing this deprecation to a (TBD) future date,” Niantic now says. “We’ll be using this additional time to collect more data on impacted devices. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion caused, and will update in advance when we move forward with the deprecation.”
My Take
So, at least for now, Pokémon Go remains supported on 32-bit Android devices. How long that will remain the case, though, is still up in the air.
Bottom line: if you still want to play Pokémon Go, don’t be surprised if you have to upgrade to a 64-bit Android smartphone in the not-too-distant future. Discontinuation may not have a date, but it is coming at some point.
