I’ve been playing kémon Go for the last three weeks—long enough to collect 53 different kémon, develop frenemy relationships with dgey edle, l on some specific feelings about the features design of the perfect kémon Go phone.

uld Nintendo ever launch a hardware spin-off, let alone a full-fledged kémon Go cell phone? have to assume the company is at least spitballing ideas. And if Nintendo does decide to release a ké-optimized hardware container, then it better move quickly. The game is a runaway hit, but when’s the last time you played Cy Crush?

Yeah, exactly.

And with that, I give you the ultimate phone optimized for kémon Go gameplay.

Niantic

It has to be Android

Sooner or later, you’ll shop for something inside the game. So why not get those ké Balls res for more or less “free” by spending money earned through the Opinion Rewards app? ’s app pays you to take rom opinion surveys, keeping your ay account packed with loose change. The app is only available to Android users, so making this phone an Android exclusive makes sense. us, come on. Apple isn’t partnering with anyone on a silly gaming phone anytime soon.

Free kémon Go data

T-Mobile already offers one year’s worth of free kémon Go data. It’s a compelling value-add, that deal needs to be extended to all carriers that sell the ultimate kémon Go phone, if only to spike hardware sales drum up interest. Shoot, while we’re at it, let’s make sure they give away free kémon Go data for eternity.

16GB of storage

Yes, we’d spec this phone with only 16GB of storage, simply to keep costs down. 16GB can easily accommodate storing Android other system files; kémon Go itself (it’s only 128MB upon initial install); countless more kémon Go spin-off apps; a nice collection of music. But storage for a bunch of ro apps video? Nope. You’re spending most of your day playing kémon Go, remember?

A full kémon Go experience, pre-installed

Obviously, the kémon Go app would come ready waiting on the phone’s home screen. You’d also find custom ké-themed wallpapers, a dedicated app store (for lack of a better term) that points to kémon Go spin-off apps. st like Samsung’s Galaxy Essentials store points to Samsung ecosystem downloads, the kémon Go Store would point to a custom kémon Go keyboard with kémon emoji stickers; the inevitable kémon Go 2 kémon Go In Space apps; of course the kémon Go Kill’em l Deathmatch spin-off.

The perfect kémon Go display

Hey, it’s a casual game. You don’t need Quad HD graphics, so we’re spec’ing this phone with a 5-inch, 1080p D display. A 720p display might make text a bit too fuzzy, so 1080p is a good compromise, as fewer pixels dem less processing power, that helps save precious battery life.

As for the display tech, we’re choosing D so that we can outfit the phone with a powerful backlight, ensuring the game is just a bit more visible in bright sunlight. Yes, an AMOD display could be better for battery life in certain scenarios, but this is a sacrifice we’re willing to make. And it’s all balanced out by improvements in processor efficiency battery capacity, which we’re about to explain.

The power-efficient Snapdragon 625

You won’t need a state-of-the-art powerhouse like the Snapdragon 820 for kémon Go. So we’re opting for the mid-range Snapdragon 625. It’s appropriately spec’d for a 1080p display, boasts solid power efficiency, comes with Qualcomm’s latest DS modem tech.

Qualcomm

Optimized for strong G

The Snapdragon 625 is a System-on-Chip that has all the silicon for G GNASS global positioning baked inside. This delivers all the location-awareness that helps you navigate to ké Stops, spawns new kémon in your area. Obviously, this phone would also support A-G (that’s Assisted G), which triangulates cell tower locations Fi hotspots to further improve location accuracy. But none of this matters unless the ultimate kémon Go phone also has a chassis design that ensures antennas operate at full strength no matter how you hold the phone.  

Think about it: Any version of Antennagate would be catastrophic.

High-capacity battery with snap-in back-up cell

First, let’s make sure the battery is extra large to ensure the ultimate kémon Go phone can last a long time during epic kémon hunts. I’m thinking of something in excess of 4000 mAh— I don’t care if it add a bit of extra bulk.

Second, let’s spec the phone with a supplementary battery system, like Motorola’s Moto Mod wer ck. Snap it on, you get another half day of game play. And just like the Moto Mod wer ck, the battery accessory would be fully hot-swappable, giving you seamless game play, without having to power-down power-up the phone.

t it buzz

Hey, we’re designing the perfect game-play experience, right? So let’s spec an extra-strong vibration motor with variable buzz settings. If you sometimes miss the game’s vibration when it alerts you to a nearby kémon, you could choose an extra-strong setting to cut through the sensory noise. also think it would be helpful if the game itself could be tweaked to have custom vibrations for dgeys, Zubats Rattatas. You know, so you could just get an alert that says, “I’m here… but ignore me.” That’s outside the scope of this hardware exercise, but it’s something Niantic should consider.

Is it really a phone?

Yes, it’s really a phone. The ultimate kémon Go phone would still do voice calls text messages, if only for safety reasons (“Hello, 911? I’m playing kémon Go found another dead body in the river.”)

The phone would also be ruggedized to withst the rigors of all-terrain kémon hunting. I’m thinking of a shatterproof display bumpers like you find on the Galaxy S7 Active. And of course, the phone would also come in three different design themes, so you can let everyone know you’re either Valor, Mystic, or Instinct.

at? Too geeky? You’re buying a kémon Go phone, junior. You gave up all semblance of dignity when you walked into the ké Gym.