Pokémon Go has been one of the biggest phenomenons of the year, capturing the hearts and minds of Pokémon fans around the world. Another phenomenon of the past few years, however, is the smartwatch. Now, the two are combining.
At Apple’s event on Wednesday, Niantic Labs announced that Pokémon Go will be coming to the Apple Watch, allowing you to hatch eggs, gather items, and more, straight from your wrist. That’s right, you soon won’t even need to have your phone in your hand to play Pokémon Go — unless you want to catch some, that is.
On the main screen of the Apple Watch, you’ll see info about your level and how much experience you need to get to the next level. You can also see which Pokemon are nearby, and how far you’ve walked so far. Once you reach a Pokéstop, you’ll treat it exactly the same way you would on the phone app — information about the Pokéstop will appear on the watch, and you’ll get items when you spin a little spinner. Once you’ve finished that particular walk or run, you’ll see information about how far you’ve gone and what items you’ve collected along the way.
Unfortunately, not everything can be done straight from your wrist — if you actually want to catch Pokémon along the way, you’re still going to have to pull out your phone. Luckily, you can tell which Pokémon you’ve run into before you pull out your phone, so if you come across one you don’t think you want to capture, you can just keep walking.
Niantic Labs says that Apple Watch support will be coming to Pokémon Go later this year, but declined to give a specific date.
Updated on 09-07-2016 by Nick Mokey: Clarified copy to reflect that you don’t have to tap to collect items in the phone app.
