Figured there have to be a few Canadian iOS Mavens on here.
Currently a fair bit of consternation (on Twitter) about the minimum iOS (and Android) requirements for the use of the Canada COVID Alert App and how these requirements shut out those with older phones. My hypothesis is that these minimum requirements are necessary to have the necessary security but it would be nice to have someone who knows confirm this. Of course if it’s not then we can make some noise:)
@auscandoc on Twitter.
COVID Alert was built by Health Canada with the Canadian Digital Service on the private exposure notification framework by Apple and Google.
Apple and Google’s contact tracing technology requires iOS 13.5+ therefore the Canadian app using it has the same iOS version requirement.
I wouldn’t expect them to develop a new feature for iOS 12 and Apple says
92% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years use iOS 13. 81% of all iPhones use iOS 13.
iOS 13 runs on the 6s (introduced Sept. 2015) and newer, including the original iPhone SE. There may be hardware that helps with security but the possibility of a device running iOS 12 being rooted would be a concern.
Excellent. Thanks for the reply. Knew some smart person would come through. with the answer!