Pokemon GO Plus, the wrist-worn device that connects to your mobile phone via Bluetooth and allows you to play Pokemon GO (Free), finally has a release date: Next Friday, September 16th. You may recall that the Plus was originally announced to launch before the end of July, but was delayed until sometime in September. Well, now we know when that sometime is! The device will set you back about $35 and will be compatible with iPhone 5 devices and above running at least iOS 8. It’ll also be compatibile with Android devices equipped with 2GB of RAM and running Android version 4.4-6.0, as well as Bluetooth 4.0 which allows for low-power consumption.
PokéStop nearby? The #PokemonGO Plus accessory lets you know. Capture one next week on 9/16! https://t.co/u5d6jJmmE3 pic.twitter.com/qQiCxskX4u
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 8, 2016
Interestingly, it was just today that Pokemon GO developer Niantic announced that they’d be building support for the Apple Watch into the game, which I’d imagine would have just replicated the functionality of the Plus device. However, that’s not really the case. The Apple Watch app will allow you to do things like check your level and see how far you need to walk to hatch an egg, but for the more important things like nearby PokeStops and catching Pokemon, it’ll simply alert you to them while still requiring you to pull out your phone to actually engage a PokeStop or catch a Pokemon. The Pokemon GO Plus allows you to do both of those things without pulling out your phone.
Look for the Pokemon GO Plus to be available next week and the Pokemon GO Apple Watch app to be available before the end of the year.
