Niantic has announced via a support article this week that it is dropping support Pokémon GO on the Apple Watch. The company is pushing users its Adventure Sync feature, which tracks steps and other data through integration with third-party apps.
The support article was first spotted by Pokémon GO Hub. Niantic says that by dropping support for the Apple Watch version of Pokémon GO it will be able to focus on building out its new Adventure Sync feature. The app will officially go offline on July 1st.
Pokémon GO is officially ending support for Apple Watch devices. Trainers using Apple Watch will no longer be able to connect their Apple Watch to Pokémon GO after July 1, 2019.
Because Adventure Sync allows Trainers the option of tracking their steps, earning Buddy Candy, and hatching Eggs in one mobile device rather than 2 separate devices, we want to focus on building Adventure Sync so that Trainers will no longer have to split their gameplay between 2 devices.
Niantic rolled out Adventure Sync for Pokémon GO in November. The feature integrates with Apple Health and Google Fit activity data, crediting players with distance traveled in the real world for hatching eggs and earning candy.
In most ways, Adventure Sync is able to replicate the functionality provided by the Pokémon GO Apple Watch App, which requires a nearby iPhone and has a tendency to be buggy.
Pokémon GO originally launched on the Apple Watch in December of 2016, with Apple giving the app an onstage demo at its September event that year. The app allowed you to log outdoor walks and runs from the Apple Watch. It wasn’t a completely standalone version, but rather a nice companion to the iPhone app.
What do you think of Niantic’s decision to kill the Pokémon GO Apple Watch app? Let us know down in the comments.