"Could we see new Pokémon Go features at Apple's WWDC 2017 keynote this Monday?"

#PokemonGO: TL;DR: Niantic was on stage at WWDC 2016 showing off Pokémon Go for iPhone and the iPhone 7 event showing off Pokémon Go for Apple Watch. I'm wondering if they could show up at WWDC 2017 next Monday and show off the next big update.I realize no one outside a very small group at Apple and Niantic could know this for sure, and plans change up until the last minute, so this is pure speculation. Even so, I'm curious to hear what people think and expect?Niantic has been on stage at the last two big Apple events. At WWDC 2016 they showed off Pokémon Go — even had the grizzled reporters and analysts racing for their phones in case the Snorlax on the big screen was spawning in real life! — and at the September 2016 event, Pokémon Go for Apple Watch. (The Mac event in October was small and, well, a Mac event.)The WWDC 2017 keynote is this coming Monday.Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has been willing to talk about and tease AR in a way he hasn’t any other special project at Apple. The company considers it not just a product, like glasses, but a core technology for the future.So, I’m wondering, could we see Niantic on stage at WWDC 2017? And if so, what could the hook be?My first thought was that Apple could use Pokémon Go to introduce ARKit, a set of augmented reality frameworks similar in spirit to SpriteKit for 2D gaming or SceneKit for 3D.Then John Hanke, or someone from Niantic, could take the stage and show off how ARKit let them much better situate Pikachu and other Pokémon on top of the live camera view, with motion tracking smoother and more accurate than we’d seen before.Developers could play around with it for their own apps and games, of course, Pokémon Go could use it for the Gym redesign or PvP or some big new feature they’d announce on stage, and Apple wouldn’t have to announce any new AR products yet still get everything set in motion.Then I remembered Pokémon Go uses Unity and they’d likely not adopt any Apple-specific AR frameworks, since they wouldn’t be portable to Android.Sadness.But, I’m still wondering, could we see Niantic on stage at WWDC 2017 anyway?If they wanted a lot of attention for their next big update, an Apple keynote and preview is certainly the place to get it. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2rCULg1