Today, Niantic announced they will be releasing a new wearable accessory for their popular mobile game Pokémon Go, called Plus. According to Polygon, Niantic stated they will release Pokémon Go Plus in most countries – later this year the device will come to “a few South American territories.” Originally scheduled to come out this past July, shortly after the mobile game’s initial launch, Niantic pushed back the release date to September, citing their need to spend more time developing an update that will allow the device and the game work together seamlessly.
Players of the game will be able to use the device without having to constantly pull out their phone and drain its battery. The device will connect via Bluetooth and will flash green and blue whenever a player walks within the range of a Poke Stop. And when a Pokémon is near you, the device will vibrate and its LED will flash green. When this happens players will have to press a button, once close to the Pokémon, to be able to through a Poke Ball and catch it. Once the Pokémon is captured, the device will flash and vibrate again. The device won’t alert players for any Pokémon nearby that are attracted by in-game item Incense.
Pokémon Go Plus is also coming to the Apple Watch. Along with having the same features as the Plus device, Pokémon Go on the Apple Watch will also be able to link up with other Apple Watch features to display additional information about your personal fitness, so you’ll know how much it’ll pay off while walking around playing the game. However, on the Apple Watch, players won’t be able to catch Pokémon – you’ll need to pull out your phone for that – and it won’t show a live map either.
Pokémon Go Plus is compatible with the iPhone-5-6s using iOS 8-9. However, Niantic didn’t mention any information for the new iPhone 7 or the iOS 10, which is scheduled for September 13. But since the iPhone 7 was just announced yesterday, it may be that Niantic didn’t have enough time to mention it, so seems likely that Pokémon Go will also come to the new phone. It will also be compatible with Android devices that run OS 4.4-6.0 and have 2GB of RAM and Bluetooth v4.0 or higher capability.
Pokémon Go Plus is set to be released in North American regions and the UK next week on September 16. It will cost about $35 and it’s already available for pre-order on the UK Nintendo Store.