Niantic revealed plans to end support for the Apple Watch app for Pokemon Go on 1 July, stating players’ activity can now be effectively tracked using just the smartphone app.

The Watch app enabled users to log distances for certain in-game features using the device’s step count, rather than needing to have the app running on the phone, meaning distances covered during exercise counted toward the total.

Its Watch app could also alert users when Pokemon appeared and allowed items to be collected at Pokestops, again without the need to use the smartphone.

Niantic pointed users toward its Adventure Sync feature, which links with Apple Health or Google Fit data to track distances covered.

“We want to focus on building Adventure Sync so that Trainers will no longer have to split their gameplay between two devices,” it wrote.

However, other features of the Apple Watch app will not be replicated.

Pokemon Go was launched for the Apple device in 2016, at which point it brought together the hottest game of the time with the coolest wearable.