Avid Pokemon fans that were eagerly waiting to explore Pokemon GO on Apple Watch are in for some great news, as Nintendo's smash-hit augmented-reality game has just launched on the wearable device with a bevy of exciting new features including Activity and Fitness Tracking. The nearby feature has now been upgraded to reveal both Pokemon and PokeStops in close proximity of the player in the game.
The game's main screen now showcases the following player information:
- Player name
- Trainer level
- The egg with shortest distance to hatching
Apple Watch now gets a new Pokemon GO update with v1.21.2, which comes with numerous interesting features like the Workout feature that can be accessed from the bottom of the screen.
The built-in fitness tracker records all your workout sessions with details like calories burned and total distance walked or travelled during each session. One might end the session after the workout is completed by hitting the End button.
You no longer have to watch out for the nearby Pokemon feature on your iPhone as the new wrist-tap notifications will alert you whenever there is any Pokemon or PokeStop nearby to your location. Consequently, this feature enables you to save your phone's battery charge and potentially extend its battery life.
On the downside, there is no integrated feature to capture Pokemon using the Apple Watch as this feature is exclusive to the iPhones. So, you will have to switch between your wearable device and the phone in order catch any Pokemon successfully.
The other hitch is that your Apple Watch needs to constantly update your GPS location to the Nintendo game servers in order to fetch location data on nearby Pokemon or PokeStops with reference to your current location. So, if the GPS or location service is disabled then you will not receive any notification updates on your wearable device.
How to install Pokemon GO app on your Apple Watch
Here's how you can install the game on your Apple Watch:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone
- Now scroll down and select Pokemon GO by tapping on it
- Enable the toggle switch for Show App on Apple Watch
Once you enable the toggle switch, you will be prompted to turn on notifications on the Apple Watch. Just follow the onscreen prompts to enable the wrist-tap alerts for nearby Pokemon and PokeStops.
Among other enhancements, you will find minor text fixes to improve legibility of font and user-interface aesthetics. Interested users, who want to try out the game on Apple Watch may go ahead and download the game for free via App Store.
