An update to 'Pokemon GO' just removed one of the game's best features
Although you can now customize your avatar whenever you'd like, one of those other changes includes the removal of the battery saver within the app. (After speaking with several people, it appears as if the battery saver has disappeared from iPhone devices while Android users appear to still have the tool.)
The battery saver feature in "Pokémon GO" dimmed your device screen if you had it by your side.
It made it quite helpful if you were walking around trying to hatch an egg, but didn't want to stare at your screen the entire time.
It was also handy if you didn't want to stare at your screen the entire time you were walking around waiting for a Pokémon to appear. You could just have your phone at your side set to vibrate any time a Pokémon appeared.
"Pokémon GO" can be pretty draining on your battery life so the idea of a battery saver was pretty handy. If you head out to a crowded area in New York City, you're bound to see players carrying around portable external batteries.
It's not clear why Niantic removed the battery saver feature. Maybe it wasn't actually saving that much battery. Some users reported that it was the cause of in-app crashes so removing it may be a simple fix at the moment for a larger-scale issue.
During a panel at Comic-Con last weekend, Niantic CEO John Hanke said their priority was making sure the servers were up and running smoothly and that users were able to play the game. New features wouldn't be added until servers were reliable. Taking away features such as the nearby footprints and battery saver mode may be steps in the direction towards remedying larger gaming issues at the moment.
Here's a quick look at all of the updates that were made in the latest version of the game:
