If you loved tracking footsteps via Pokemon Go on your Apple Watch, you’re not going to love this.
Pokemon Go developer has announced that it’ll be discontinuing this feature come July 1st.
Niantic, Inc, has announced that it is discontinuing support for Apple Watch in its Pokemon Go game. Currently, the Apple Watch companion app tracks your steps and sends that data to the game. However, after July 1, 2019, players will no longer be able to connect their Apple Watches to the iPhone Pokemon Go app.
Niantic has stated that the decision is due to the launch of Adventure Sync in October 2018. “Because Adventure Sync allows Trainers the option of tracking their steps… in one mobile device instead of two separate devices, we wanted to focus on building Adventure Sync,” Niantic said in a statement on its website, “so that Trainers will no longer have to split their gameplay between two devices.”
The Pokemon Go with Adventure Sync tracks walking, but does so using only the iPhone. “Trainers can use Adventure Sync to track their distance by syncing their fitness apps in their phones,” continues the company, “which does not require devices such as Apple Watches.”
With the Pokemon Go Apple Watch app, users were able to start a workout and sync their data back to the Health app. As users complied the workout, the app would then tell them how close they were to hatching an incubating Pokemon egg.
The decision arrives ahead of Apple’s unveiling watchOS 6 and possibly an Apple Watch app store. It also arrives after the Pokemon Company revealed a sleep-tracking version of the game which uses its own hardware instead of Apple Watch.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and Niantic