The new update 0.53.1 for Pokémon GO changes, among other things, the route tracking in the game. Specifically, it concerns GPS drift.
Niantic has released a new update for Pokémon GO that improves the display on the Apple Watch and makes changes to the GPS system. Since update 0.53.1 for Android or 1.23.1 for iOS is currently rolling out, it may still take some time before it appears in the app stores. During the rollout, the update is gradually being released for various countries and regions. A specific release date for Germany is not known.
Patch notes 0.53.1 Android / 1.23.1 iOS
On the Pokémon blog, the developers announce the following changes to Pokémon GO:
- Updated Apple Watch to display eggs received from PokéStops
- Modified route tracking for better compensation of GPS drift error
- Minor text corrections
The interesting part of this update is the changes to the GPS drift error. In Pokémon GO, there is a bug with the GPS measurement called GPS drift. This bug manifests itself by your character in Pokémon GO running around even though the device is still and you are not moving. Players exploited this bug by keeping Pokémon GO active on their smartphones to passively collect kilometers for hatching eggs without moving.
The update does not state that GPS detection has been improved, but that there is a better compensation for the GPS drift error.
We will likely only find out how these changes manifest in the coming days when the first players have been able to test the update. Possibly, the developers changed the time intervals used to measure the distance to correct inaccurate measurements. However, that is only speculation and one of many possibilities.
This brilliant interface was designed by a fan for Pokémon GO.
