Some 'Pokémon Go' players finally get decent Pokémon tracker

Pokémon Go has a new version out for iOS and Android, bringing a number of fixes and small improvements, and a key new feature -- though that particular feature is only live for a small subset of users.

"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," the makers of the augmented reality mobile game wrote in a Facebook post.

The feature is activated by tapping on the Pokémon tracker in the lower right portion of the game's main screen. Besides the "Sightings" portion, which shows nearby Pokémon, the (somewhat illogically named) "Nearby" portion shows Pokémon who have been seen at PokéStops in your vicinity.

I did not get the "Nearby" feature yet, but some folks did: The creator of cryptocurrency Dogecoin, Jackson Palmer, documented how it works in a video, below.

If you didn't get the new feature, your Pokémon tracker will only show "Sightings," which is not particularly useful at this time since it only shows you that some Pokémon are near but doesn't give clues as to where they are. Clicking on individual Pokémon seen in "Sightings" yields no result.

Pokémon Go creator Niantic experimented with various versions of the tracker since the game's launch in July, but none have ever worked particularly well. Let's hope that, post-testing, the Nearby/Sightings tab will finally start being useful for players.

Other new features included in these updates -- which brought the game version to 0.33.0 for Android and 1.3.0 for iOS -- include warnings for drivers, re-enabled battery saver mode, improved accuracy of curveball throws and the ability for Trainers to change nickname one time. The bug that prevented "Nice,” ”Great,” and “Excellent” Poké Ball throws from awarding the appropriate XP bonuses has been fixed, as was the one that had achievements showing incorrect Medal icons.