4 ms·
True GPS was definitely turned on. Motion X doesn't tell you how many satellites it's tracking, but handy runner was tracking 6 at the time (iPhone4 vs N1), and
by lokshin 16y ago
True GPS was definitely turned on. Motion X doesn't tell you how many satellites it's tracking, but handy runner was tracking 6 at the time (iPhone4 vs N1), and MotionX was showing an acquired signal so it must have been tracking at least three. I also tried to hold the phone as loosely as possible (although I doubt this made a difference).
There is a comment above on Apple choosing a lower sampling rate in exchange for better battery life. I think this is probably right on. Most users will only be using the GPS to mark driving directions or to record something like running. In these cases the GPS is definitely good enough (you're just hugging streets anyway). Unfortunately, it's not good enough for me : ).
I would definitely be more than willing to run more tests or try different programs if people throw out ideas.
- cheald 16y agoNot exactly on-topic, but can you share what you're working on that needs that kind of accuracy? I'm awfully curious. :)
- lwhi 16y agoIt's a shame .. if functionality is going to converge into one device, I think it's important that the individual functions aren't limited.
- cheald 16y agoHonestly, I think that's Apple being Apple. Cutting GPS quality means better reviews and a better user perception. No reviewer is going to write "Yeah, my GPS was only accurate to 14 feet", but you can be damned sure that every reviewer is going to write about the battery lifetime under normal usage conditions (including GPS). I'm not meaning to suggest that stacking reviews is the only purpose behind it - if it doesn't affect the user experience, then the battery savings is justified - but it is typical Apple. By way of another example, their approach to being caught with their hands in the signal cookie jar with regards to the iPhone 4 signal problems (specifically, how they manipulated the bar calculation algorithms to show a stronger connection than other devices for a given signal level)? No worries, we'll fix that, but we'll make bars 1-3 taller so that psychologically, you feel like your signal is better. Apple is masterful at manipulating what people see to get them to believe that they're getting the best possible experience, but the laws of physics dictate that they have to cheat somewhere sometimes. I don't mean that to sound perjorative, but just to point out that part of Apple's ability to do user experience so well is their ability to manipulate the user into thinking the positive things they want them to.