SKY subscribers have been warned the broadcaster’s popular streaming app will stop working on some devices in days.
Sky Go is the company’s platform for on-demand and live streaming of channels.
Customers can access it as part of their package on number of gadgets including iPhone, Android, iPad, PlayStation, Xbox and more.
But as is quite standard with technology, older versions eventually lose support, which is exactly what is about to happen for iPhone system iOS.
Fortunately, this does mean the vast majority of people should be unaffected.
Sky alerted users about the move last month, saying: “To ensure we provide the best possible experience to Sky Go customers, from time to time, we stop supporting older operating system versions.”
The version that is being dropped is iOS 12.
iOS 12 was released back in 2018 – and to put it into context, the current version is iOS 17, though a free upgrade, iOS 18, is coming tomorrow.
Sky recommends that users upgrade to iOS 13 at least to continue using Sky Go.
However, there are several iPhone models that are too old to upgrade to iOS 13 so if you’re using one of these you won’t be able to access Sky Go on it later this week.
Here’s the full list:
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPod Touch (6th generation)
The iOS 12 version of Sky Go app will stop working on Tuesday (September 17).
Sky’s not the only company to be changing support recently.
Netflix has just announced that it will no longer support a much newer version of iOS in comparison, iOS 16.
iOS 16 was released in 2022 – and devices that can’t upgrade to the next available version are the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPad Pro (first generation) and iPad 5.
However, Netflix has said the app will continue to work for the time being, it just won’t receive any new features or fixes.
Why get rid of the app?
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Reporter
Developing apps – and crucially, maintaining them – takes time, effort and money.
Data by Statista from February suggests that only 1.3 per cent of Apple devices still run iOS 12.
And that’s globally – so it’s safe to assume an even smaller percentage are probably still using Sky Go on iOS 12.
So, it makes sense for Sky to give up on that version of the app.
The company has supported the app for much longer than others considering iOS 12 is five years old now.