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Pokémon GO Plus review, price, specs: Undiscovered features not in Plus manual; Device catches Pokémon not previously caught

| Sep 18, 2016 01:15 AM EDT

The Pokémon GO Plus is a small device that lets a player enjoy "Pokémon GO" while they are on the move and not looking at their smartphone.

After the release of Pokémon Go Plus, many "Pokémon Go" fans were quick to buy the device even without the knowledge of its capabilities. But now, after interacting with it, gamers have even discovered more features that Nintendo failed to mention in the advertisements.

The new Pokémon Go Plus is supposed to be a small device that lets players enjoy "Pokémon GO" while they are on the move and not on their smartphone screens. It simply gives a player's phone capabilities of running GPS in the background. But according to Forbes, the peripheral has done just more than what is was meant to do.

According to the earlier descriptions of Pokémon Go Plus, the company had announced that players would only throw a Pokeball using the device if they had the ability to catch the Pokémon before. This means that they would not catch non-previously-caught Pokémon.

However, as lately discovered, not only can "Pokémon Go" fans catch new Pokémon but also can they enjoy a new functionality, where the light of the device flashes yellow instead of green. This gives players a chance to open their phone and use better balls n berries to catch it.

Another undiscovered feature is that it step tracks and assists in hatching eggs and buddy training, according to Tech Crunch.  the functionality will help players  continue to grow their "Pokémon GO" colony while engaging in other activities.

Why Niantic failed to communicate this earlier is still a mystery although the company tweeted on Sep 16 about the issue. The late comment from the company was taken as a sign of its poor communication strategies since the feature was not only omitted in Pokémon Go Plus's adverts, but also in the manual.

While Pokémon Go Plus has the cool feature of catching new Pokémon, players need to note that the device neither tracks distance nor catches Pokémon effectively like a smartphone,and so, they need their phones. In other words, Pokémon Go Plus "strips" the game of its elements.

Yet, the peripheral is a jewel to "Pokémon Go" fans who wish to play the game at work, school or while jogging and biking. Purchasing it is, therefore, more of a niche than an engaging venture. As quoted by Forbes, the device ultimately makes "Pokémon Go" less engaging than playing it on a smartphone.

Pokémon Go Plus is available in Amazon.com, GameStop.com and Nintendo stores for $34.99. Here is how to set up and use the device:

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