Niantic announced that Pokemon Go will take advantage of some more advanced smartphones in order to support AR and let the creatures have some interactions with the environment.
Pokemon Go players are already enjoying the way the world looks with their virtual buddies appearing there through the phone's camera. There are some limitations though, such as the Pokemon appearing on some objects that would normally be supposed to obscure them.
Niantic are now working on removing some of these limitations. In the example shown in the picture below, Bulbasaur normally gets shown over the tree that is supposed to be in front of it. The AR integration allows the player to see the objects in space as they are supposed to be, with the tree partially obscuring Bulbasaur.
Unfortunately, this technology will not be available for all the players due to hardware limitations. Only four smartphone models will support this technology in the beginning:
- Samsung Galaxy S9
- Samsung Galaxy S10
- Google Pixel 3
- Google Pixel 4
The developers stated that they are going to work on introducing the feature to more phones in the future but we would hazard a guess that these will also be high-end devices.
Reality Blending, as Niantic are calling it, will need the help of players to reach its full potential though. Niantic are working on creating 3D maps for it in order to support all the PokeStops and Gyms.
Niantic
Trainers at level 40 will be able to opt-in, after which they will be asked to record videos of PokeStops and Gyms from various angles, with each video lasting up to 10 seconds.
