Pokemon GO leak data shows iPhone-only eggs and SMS contact
Those iPhone Pokemon GO users that were bummed to see Google Play sponsoring the Pokemon GO Fest 2021 event will be glad to see iOS-specific eggs in the near future. The latest update to the game files for Pokemon GO revealed this (iOS-specific eggs) and a wide variety of wild new updates and teasers for future items and features in the game. Also found were new fitness tracking mods, dynamic re-load of map elements, cross game settings between other Niantic games, and an expansion of the ways in which a player can work with their address book.
This new set of updates comes in a big way from exploration done by PokeMiners Toronto as posted with The Silph Road on Reddit. Data and code for Pokemon GO found in this way doesn't always guarantee real live features, but given their appearance in the game's release build file, there is (or has been in the past) a REALLY GOOD chance we'll see what's teased make its way to live play.
The iOS eggs element appears as such: IOS_EGGS and IosEggs, right alongside HATCHING, NON-HATCHING, and HATCHED. It may be that Niantic needed to make a specific element to account for Apple's rules for "loot boxes" and such, but given the still largely free set of rules surrounding eggs, it's difficult to see why that'd be true. It might also be that "IOS" does not refer to iOS, the operating system – but we shall see!
Map Update were given a bit of a boost in this update. Code "cachedMapSettings" and other elements indicate that the user will have more control over how and when the map is updated, and – we hope – how much data a user is using when they play the game. Cross your fingers this means we'll see less of this recurring app data bug situation in the future.
Fitness Updates just keep coming! In this latest update, Niantic added a "get_NumOfHours" element to the fitness section of the game. This sits beside number of days, number of weeks, and so forth.
Niantic games cross-talk increases with this update. We'll soon be able to set Niantic Profile, online status, cross game friends lists, game invites, a shared friend graph, nickname, cross game online status, and work with address book imports.
In the address book arena, Niantic also continues to attempt to get users to invite friends and family. Syncing your contacts list with the game will continue to be pushed, invites for friends will be encouraged. Niantic is also attempting to add some "contact method" system elements with email and SMS messaging – weird!
Take a peek at the timeline below for more information on recent updates to Pokemon GO. Also stay tuned – there's a BUNCH of Shiny action on the horizon.