Pokemon Go developer Niantic will soon start testing an AR feature called Reality Blending on select devices

Creators of Pokemon Go, Niantic has announced that a new AR feature will be heading to Pokemon Go soon, though it will only be available on select phones. This addition will be called Reality Blending.

Reality Blending will allow a player's Buddy Pokemon to interact with the world in a way that hasn't previously been possible. AR tech that's found in phones such as Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy S10, Google Pixel 3, and Google Pixel 4 will allow your PokePals to appear in the world in a more realistic fashion.

For now, this will be tested using snapshots in Pokemon Go. The aim is for Pokemon to physically go behind objects in the environment rather than simply floating in front of them as they do now. So, as you can see from the GIF above, this means they will disappear behind a tree instead of just moving onto it. The testing will start on the aforementioned devices before being rolled out to other phones at a later date.

Elsewhere, Niantic is working on creating a dynamic 3-D map of all the existing PokeStops and Gyms to allow them to implement other AR features in future updates. They're asking players to help out with this and will introduce a feature called PokeStop Scan, that will be an opt-in for level 40 players before rolling out to lower-level players later on.

This will allow players to upload videos from as many angles as possible of different PokeStops and Gyms. The videos will be limited to 10 seconds and will aid Niantic in developing the AR experience of the game. For more information on what this might include, check out the Pokemon Go Blog.

Pokemon Go is available now over on the App Store and Google Play. It's a free-to-play game with in-app purchases.