A new update, available now on Android and iPhone, tackles a number of bugs, changes features, and adds a new safety measure.[excerpt]
You can check out the full patch notes below.
It's mostly bug fixes, but the three big changes are the return of battery saver mode, the inclusion of a new safety measure that prevents players from playing while driving, and changes to the Nearby radar. Now, if you're going a certain speed and you try to play, you will see the below prompt.
The Nearby Pokémon function's changes are not yet clear. As you can see below, it looks different,and the update notes read, "We’re currently testing a variation of the 'Nearby Pokémon' feature with a subset of users. During this period you may see some variation in the nearby Pokémon UI." It's unclear how you become part of that subset, or how its functions differ from the original implementation.
The update is available now on both platforms.
[Source: @PokemonGoApp, Pokémon Go]
Our Take
I'm very happy to see Niantic being more communicative with these updates. Problematic Nearby functionality has been a big problem for the game in the last few weeks and I really hope its issues are worked out and it is actually functional. As of the last few days, I have been completely ignoring it, writing it off as being useless.