After a summer of Pokemon GO consuming our free time, the game is finally heading to its next device, the Apple Watch.
The surprising news was revealed at Apple’s own press conference today. Niantic CEO, John Hanke, took the stage, first confirming that the AR game had been downloaded a staggering 500 million times, and players had walked 4.6 billion kilometers. That was far from the biggest news, however; Pokemon GO is coming to Apple’s smartwatch later this year with some new features.
A brief demonstration of the game was featured on-stage. The watch edition of the game will place a bigger focus on player fitness, tracking the calories you burn in play sessions along with distance. Niantic also showcased locating a Snorlax on the watch as well as hatching a Poke-egg to reveal a Pikachu. In both cases the player was able to check app updates without having to look at a phone.
You’ll be able to play the game on both the original device and the new Apple Watch 2, which was revealed at today’s conference. It features a display that’s twice as bright as its predecessor as well as a GPS and other features, increasing the kit’s focus on fitness.
No solid release date for the Apple Watch version of Pokemon GO was confirmed. It looks like Apple is quickly latching on to Nintendo’s increased presence in the smartphone space; the conference also saw the announcement of a new mobile Super Mario game, Super Mario Run, which will come to iOS first.
