iPhone 6 May Include Temperature, Pressure and Humidity Sensors

[MacRumors]

Electronics analyst Sun Chang Xu reports on her Weibo account that the next iPhone may add a pressure, temperature and humidity sensor.

G for Games relayed the report and points out that the "pressure" in this context is certainly atmospheric, not blood pressure:

According to Sun Chang Xu (news chief analyst at ESM-China), sources close to the matter have revealed that Apple will catch up in the "sensors department", as the iPhone 6 will feature pressure, temperature and humidity sensors. Please note that the analyst is probably not referring to blood pressure (this feature is rumored to be implemented in Apple's iWatch) but to atmospheric pressure.

This same analyst previously reported that Apple may use "optical sensors" to measure heart rate and oxygen levels in the rumored iWatch. The addition of these atmospheric sensors would bring it up in line with Samsung's S4 which included similar atmospheric sensors.

The addition of more sensors to the iPhone 6 seems a natural progression with all the recent reports that Apple has been aggressively hiring individuals in the area of health sensors. iOS 8 is said to include a Healthbook app which reports on many health related sensors.

Article Link: iPhone 6 May Include Temperature, Pressure and Humidity Sensors

 

[JerryCards]

More and more useless stuff will be packed in iPhone 6, at least in Rumors.

 

[locoboi187]

I'm actually pretty excited about all these features for the iPhone 6

 

[goobot]

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the S5 drop all those sensors or was I just misled?

 

[stuffradio]

I really hope so! Some Android phones like the Galaxy already has this. If the iPhone has it, it would really help Meteorologists accurately track storms and save more lives.

 

[unobtainium]

How accurate could the temperature sensor in a smartphone possibly be? I'm guessing it would usually give you a fairly inaccurate reading, particularly if you just pulled it out of your pocket, or if the CPU is running hot.

 

[Z400Racer37]

Anybody have any thoughts as to the implications for forecasting weather? Obviously the weather higher off the ground will be different, but is there any significant utility in knowing the conditions on the ground in terms of forecasting?

 

[stuffradio]

Anybody have any thoughts as to the implications for forecasting weather? Obviously the weather higher off the ground will be different, but is there any significant utility in knowing the conditions on the ground in terms of forecasting?

Live tracking of where storms are located, especially if developers make apps that gather all Barometric data everywhere.

 

[chakdey]

iPhone 6 will also tell you the future

 

[lk400]

Cant wait to find out how hot and humid my pants pocket really is.

 

[newyorksole]

Just what we need!

 

[Michael CM1]

That would be neat. A lot of times I just want to know what temperature it actually is outside. This could also be used to create a Waze-like crowd sourced weather service. Let your phone automatically send updates when it somehow figures out you're outdoors. Allow people to submit reports for rain, severe weather, whatever, and back it up with NWS data.

I will accept any royalties thrown my way!

 

[jm001]

BUT will it come with a spork?

 

[imaginex20]

For why?

 

[palmerc2]

Thank goodness! I've always wondered what the atmospheric pressure is in my home. No longer will I have to wonder!

Same with humidity, I bet my hands put off a bit of moisture.

 

[JerryCards]

Are they really useful? In what situation I should use my iPhone to measure the temperature or Humidity? And, are those measurements mean anything?

I really hope so! Some Android phones like the Galaxy already has this. If the iPhone has it, it would really help Meteorologists accurately track storms and save more lives.

----------

A spork will be something I may use sometimes

BUT will it come with a spork?

 

[Windlasher]

Instead of just an UP arrow, could you also add a this is really stupid and I can't believe you actually printed this button?

 

[Vanilla35]

Yeah, sounds pretty useless to me. Seriously? Weather apps have gotten full featured enough. I do not need a humidity sensor built into my phone...

 

[eastamherstbias]

I really don't care about those sensors. I am not the weather channel. How about we just do this.

2 sizes----
Bigger Battery
Bigger Screen
4k Recording
AC WIFI

 

[psylence2k]

I dont know why I would want my phone to tell me the humidity and temperature of a place I'm already at.

My body lets me know if it's too hot/cold or humid for my own taste.

I feel like I only need my weather app to tell me things like this BEFORE I go outside or into a certain area.

I'm probably missing something here.

 

[saintforlife]

So in addition to the 3M sensor inside the phone turning red to tell me that I've taken one too many showers with the phone inside the bathroom, now the phone itself will probably beep and tell me that the humidity is high. Okay.

 

[Agent-P]

I'm legitimately curious, what purpose would temperature, pressure, and humidity sensors in a smartphone actually be useful for? What have android phones done with these sensors? An above poster mentioned a Waze-like croudsourcing for weather if you opt in which would be a good idea, but wouldn't that get messed up by the phone being in your pocket or house or car?

 

[smulji]

Yeah, sounds pretty useless to me. Seriously? Weather apps have gotten full featured enough. I do not need a humidity sensor built into my phone...

You do because Apple says you do. /s

 

[Virinprew]

Let's add smoke detector, pH meter, Oscilloscope, alcohol detector, bomb detector, radiation detector, and brain wave monitor.

 

[smulji]

I'm legitimately curious, what purpose would temperature, pressure, and humidity sensors in a smartphone actually be useful for? What have android phones done with these sensors? An above poster mentioned a Waze-like croudsourcing for weather if you opt in which would be a good idea, but wouldn't that get messed up by the phone being in your pocket or house?

Problem with Android is that some devices have these sensors and some don't. Actually, I think right now only the Galaxy 5S has these sensors, but I could be wrong. So it's up to each device maker to create api's for developers to utilize these sensors. With the iOS platform, the situation is much more clear cut.