Digital Compass (Magnetometer) Confirmed in Next iPhone?

MacRumors · May 7, 2009, 09:33 PM

BoyGeniusReport posts a screenshot from debugging menus in the 3.0 beta firmware which seems to confirm that Apple has built-in magnetometer (digital compass) support into the operating system.

Evidence of a magnetometer was first reported in April and MacRumors has heard that the magnetometer will indeed be present in the next generation iPhone expected this summer. We previously explored what additional functionality would come with a digital compass. The possibilities were particularly intriguing:

Quote:

Examples of how this could be used include pointing your iPhone's camera at a building and the phone telling you what building it is by combining GPS, accelerometer and compass information. The iPhone could even overlay graphics and text on top of the image to provide additional information. Another application described is the ability to show information about stars and constellations simply by pointing your iPhone towards the sky.

Article Link: Digital Compass (Magnetometer) Confirmed in Next iPhone?

ro2nie · May 7, 2009, 09:38 PM

A compass... This could be handy for GPS when not moving. It can tell you the direction you are pointing to

Virtuo · May 7, 2009, 09:39 PM

I wonder how useful this implementation would really be, however. I perceive that GPS applications will take advantage of this feature, enabling the ability to detect which direction subject is facing without having to relying primarily on movement.

ADDITION: This would be VERY useful in some sort of 3d application; being able to navigate through an interface by moving the device about.

t0mat0 · May 7, 2009, 09:40 PM

Great! Augmented reality like Tonchidot and Enkin etc is seemingly getting closer...

designgeek · May 7, 2009, 09:41 PM

This is probably a stupid question but what is "Kitchen Sink?"

phlops · May 7, 2009, 09:42 PM

What I really want to know is how was this screenshot generated? What Apple program has this in it? That'd be new content for the Field Test app.

zman911 · May 7, 2009, 09:43 PM

dude, that's seems pretty cool. looks like i might have to invest in a 3rd gen iphone in a few months!

Brucey · May 7, 2009, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by designgeek

This is probably a stupid question but what is "Kitchen Sink?"

It seems like this is a joke. When one takes everything with them, they take "everything but the kitchen sink". Also what is a dump log? Seems like a joke to me.

SilentPanda · May 7, 2009, 09:48 PM

At a guess, Kitchen Sink probably means "log everything". Dump Log is to output the logfile I would guess.

chelsel · May 7, 2009, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phlops

What I really want to know is how was this screenshot generated? What Apple program has this in it? That'd be new content for the Field Test app.

Just press power and home at the same time, briefly. You should hear a shutter sound and it will be saved on your phone.

Spanky Deluxe · May 7, 2009, 09:49 PM

I've been waiting/hoping for this feature more than anything else. Woo!!

html · May 7, 2009, 09:56 PM

This doesn't look like any settings pane I know. Is it some sort of beta debug app?

viperguy · May 7, 2009, 09:58 PM

The Compass reminds of Zelda (a bit stupid but it just came to my mind

)

Lesser Evets · May 7, 2009, 09:59 PM

Well!

... I won't pack the magnet, needle, and cork, on those long voyages anymore.

TuffLuffJimmy · May 7, 2009, 09:59 PM

Gah! This is making it harder, and harder, for me to not upgrade every single generation. I made a deal with myself to not upgrade until rev4.

.....but rev3 is so enticing.

MacGohil · May 7, 2009, 09:59 PM

The copy machines and RIM, Palm and Zune R&D centres start cranking once again....

timish · May 7, 2009, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucey

It seems like this is a joke. When one takes everything with them, they take "everything but the kitchen sink". Also what is a dump log? Seems like a joke to me.

Dump log is a bathroom tracking tool

t0mat0 · May 7, 2009, 10:05 PM

Are these all settings a user won't see in the end? Curious about the ability to "log GPS (in MA)" Anyone know what MA is?
Are these log files just for the beta's ?

VesperDEM · May 7, 2009, 10:08 PM

You guys are so gullible...

You know I read somewhere that the new iPhones coming out would be made of solid gold and be half the price they are now!

kastenbrust · May 7, 2009, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by viperguy

The Compass reminds of Zelda (a bit stupid but it just came to my mind

)

All we need is an iOrcarina and we're away!

Boy Genius Report is full of rubbish, i can photoshop a compass debugging too. Why would a compass debugging too have its own GUI? Why would that GUI include 'Kitchen Sink'?

TuffLuffJimmy · May 7, 2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VesperDEM

You guys are so gullible...

You know I read somewhere that the new iPhones coming out would be made of solid gold and be half the price they are now!

It's been known for quite a while that a digital compass is coming with iPhone 3.0.

ruinfx · May 7, 2009, 10:16 PM

uh why is it so hard to believe that the next iphone will have a compass in it when the g1 already has one?

t0mat0 · May 7, 2009, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VesperDEM

You guys are so gullible...

You know I read somewhere that the new iPhones coming out would be made of solid gold and be half the price they are now!

http://www.goldstriker.co.uk/catalog...roducts_id=257

What do you mean? There's already a gold one

Has the General page changed? Or is it just a Location Services On Off switch at the moment? Presumably there would be a new menu, an addition to the Restrictions menu for Location also?
Does anyone have a list of applications, other than Enkin, Tonchidot, SatNav for magnetometers?

dgcaste · May 7, 2009, 10:25 PM

That use suggestion (for geoidentifying buildings) is shaky at best. With the 10-20ft inaccuracy in the GPS, it would be hard to believe that an app could guess what a building is, unless it looks at the camera and looks at all the buildings in a 20m radius that look like it within streetview.

macduke · May 7, 2009, 10:28 PM

Prediction: Google maps will rotate depending on which direction you are facing. Although that would have to mean that text labels would also have to go for a spin. Would that be really hard to do or are street names and the like a seperate layer in the Google API?

May 7, 2009, 09:38 PM	#2
ro2nie macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Oxford	A compass... This could be handy for GPS when not moving. It can tell you the direction you are pointing to __________________ iMac C2E 2.8Ghz 4Gb RAM 1Tb HD iPhone 3G sites: Piano tuning Piano sales

May 7, 2009, 09:39 PM	#3
Virtuo macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Boston, MA	I wonder how useful this implementation would really be, however. I perceive that GPS applications will take advantage of this feature, enabling the ability to detect which direction subject is facing without having to relying primarily on movement. ADDITION: This would be VERY useful in some sort of 3d application; being able to navigate through an interface by moving the device about. __________________ http://twitter.com/pygeek

May 7, 2009, 09:40 PM	#4
t0mat0 macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Home	Great! Augmented reality like Tonchidot and Enkin etc is seemingly getting closer... __________________ Looking forward to big things by Apple in 2009

May 7, 2009, 09:41 PM	#5
designgeek macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: "Town"	This is probably a stupid question but what is "Kitchen Sink?" __________________ So many stupid questions, so little time. 15.uMBP

May 7, 2009, 09:42 PM	#6
phlops macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ann Arbor, MI	What I really want to know is how was this screenshot generated? What Apple program has this in it? That'd be new content for the Field Test app. __________________ /phil

May 7, 2009, 09:43 PM	#7
zman911 macrumors newbie Join Date: Jul 2007	dude, that's seems pretty cool. looks like i might have to invest in a 3rd gen iphone in a few months! __________________ 17" 2.0Ghz Intel iMac \| 2GB DDR2 \| 250GB Hard Drive 2nd Gen \| 4Gb iPod Nano 1st Gen \| 1Gb Shuffle

May 7, 2009, 09:48 PM	#9
SilentPanda Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: The Bamboo Forest	At a guess, Kitchen Sink probably means "log everything". Dump Log is to output the logfile I would guess. __________________ Happy Slapsgiving!

May 7, 2009, 09:49 PM	#11
Spanky Deluxe macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: London, UK	I've been waiting/hoping for this feature more than anything else. Woo!! __________________ "No, I'm from Iowa, I only work in outer space."

May 7, 2009, 09:56 PM	#12
html macrumors member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Denver	:confused:Is this a settings pane?:confused: This doesn't look like any settings pane I know. Is it some sort of beta debug app? __________________ eMac 2001, eMac 2004, iPod Classic 80gb, MBP Unibody 320gb

May 7, 2009, 09:58 PM	#13
viperguy macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2005	The Compass reminds of Zelda (a bit stupid but it just came to my mind ) __________________ Macbook Alu, 8 GB iPod Nano (4th Gen), 1 GB iPod Shuffle, 4 GB iPod Nano (1st Gen)..

May 7, 2009, 09:59 PM	#14
Lesser Evets macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2006	Well! ... I won't pack the magnet, needle, and cork, on those long voyages anymore. __________________ 2x2.66 Xeon, 13GB RAM, 4 1TB SATA, 30" & 20" C.Displays, X1900, OSX 10.5.6, Sound Sticks, iSight, 1 TB TimeMach, 16GB iPT 2G

May 7, 2009, 09:59 PM	#15
TuffLuffJimmy macrumors 601 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Portland, OR	Gah! This is making it harder, and harder, for me to not upgrade every single generation. I made a deal with myself to not upgrade until rev4. .....but rev3 is so enticing. __________________ "Next PM I get from you about this, and it gets posted as my signature." --LTD

May 7, 2009, 09:59 PM	#16
MacGohil macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Auckland, NZ	The copy machines and RIM, Palm and Zune R&D centres start cranking once again.... __________________ MBP-Penryn 15", 2.4GHz Core2Duo, 2GB Ram, GeForce 8600M GT-256MB Iphone-8GB, Itouch-8GB, 8GB Nano

May 7, 2009, 10:05 PM	#18
t0mat0 macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Home	Are these all settings a user won't see in the end? Curious about the ability to "log GPS (in MA)" Anyone know what MA is? Are these log files just for the beta's ? __________________ Looking forward to big things by Apple in 2009

May 7, 2009, 10:08 PM	#19
VesperDEM macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Manchester, MO	Wow... You guys are so gullible... You know I read somewhere that the new iPhones coming out would be made of solid gold and be half the price they are now!

May 7, 2009, 10:16 PM	#22
ruinfx macrumors 6502a Join Date: Feb 2008	uh why is it so hard to believe that the next iphone will have a compass in it when the g1 already has one? __________________ My Blog 15" 2.4GHz Penryn MBP 32GB iPod Touch 2G

May 7, 2009, 10:25 PM	#24
dgcaste macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2008	That use suggestion (for geoidentifying buildings) is shaky at best. With the 10-20ft inaccuracy in the GPS, it would be hard to believe that an app could guess what a building is, unless it looks at the camera and looks at all the buildings in a 20m radius that look like it within streetview. __________________ iPhone 3G S⃣ MacBook Air

May 7, 2009, 10:28 PM	#25
macduke macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: KC	Prediction: Google maps will rotate depending on which direction you are facing. Although that would have to mean that text labels would also have to go for a spin. Would that be really hard to do or are street names and the like a seperate layer in the Google API? __________________ MBP 2.4ghz 4gb ram 500gb hd / 32gb iPhone 3g S⃣ www.duke-design.com - Graphic design, photography, and more!

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