Physical Wellness

Pokémon GO and the Apple Watch: Report Reveals That Health and Fitness Remain a Dominant Part of the Smartwatch Market

By BC Olvido | Update Date: Dec 29, 2016 01:33 PM EST

Smartwatches are primarily marketed to the health and fitness enthusiast. Good news for Apple Watch owners, Niantic's Pokémon GO is now available for the device.

Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is one of the most coveted smartwatches on the market. Most recently, Apple announced through a press statement that Niantic's Pokémon GO has been launched as an Apple Watch app free for everyone to download from the App Store.

The reception of smartwatches has been relatively warm. Industry analysts say that smartwatches are the next generation of mobile devices set to change consumer lives.

Smartwatches were originally a convenient form of getting notifications while keeping your phone comfortably tucked in your pocket. They were also a new form of tracking exercise and integrating the tracked data for reference on smartphones.

Pokémon GO. Pokémon GO is Niantic's free-to-play, location-based augmented reality (AR) mobile game. The game was released to mixed reviews but was praised for its promotion of physical exercise and the exciting social experience it brings.

At its peak, Pokémon GO amassed a large number of users, setting the record for the quickest top-grossing app in terms of downloads in the App Store. ith the game now available on the Apple Watch, players will be able to experience the game on their wrists, exploring their environment, tracking wild Pokémon, and hatching eggs. Pokémon trainers will be able to directly interact with the Pokémon GO app on their iPhones.

Of course, upon encountering a Pokémon, trainers would still need to rely on their iPhone to capture them. This limitation is due to the Apple Watch's nature of having only a thumb-sized screen.

Technically, with the app on your Apple Watch, users will be able to receive notifications about nearby Pokémon and PokéStops. Additionally, a notification is received when an incubated egg hatches.

The Pokémon GO Apple Watch app further promotes physical exercise. One core feature of the app enables players to log play sessions as a workout that will count as personal Activity rings. Steps taken during an exercise such as jogging are also tracked for hatching Pokémon eggs.

Pokémon GO offers a good blend of fun and exercise. With it now available on the Apple Watch, more focus and attention can be given to the latter while not compromising the enjoyable experience it brings while playing.

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