Does Apple Watch 2 GPS work internationally?

[nygiants242]

if I go to Europe and don't bring my phone with me on a run, does the GPS work without issue?

 

[jakerichva]

GPS is Global Positioning System. So the answer is that the GPS in the watch will work anywhere on the globe exactly the same.

 

[tromboneaholic]

It has GPS, but it needs the iPhone for a map since it doesn't store maps on the Watch.

 

[richimages]

Hummm ... I thought it used GLONASS to triangulate with local Cell towers to get a best guess GPS when it's not connected to the phone ... Is this thinking wrong, or needing some more details ? This is pretty confusing to figure out with certainty what will happen if I vacation and go for a run independent of the phone being on me.

 

[jakerichva]

GLONASS is GPS, works to the same standards as the original GPS. The original was launched, supported and maintained by the USAF, primarily for military use. It later on was opened up to commercial use, but with reduced accuracy (plus or minus 15 meters). Now it's open to all at a much higher accuracy (plus or minus a couple of meters), although not to the full accuracy used for military targeting and some scientific measurements (millimeters). GLONASS was the Russian version, but uses the same frequencies and standards so GLONASS and the USAF system are compatible and cooperative. GPS is a generic term for Global Positioning System, and generally applies to both systems. So, for the OP, GPS works the same in Europe as it does in North America, or anywhere else on the planet, for that matter.

 

[phobos512]

GLONASS was the Russian version, but uses the same frequencies and standards so GLONASS and the USAF system are compatible and cooperative.

This is not accurate. They are not "compatible". It just so happens that there are a number of devices that can receive both (actually, multiple, as GPS and GLONASS aren't the only systems out there) sets of signals.

 

[raqball]

Glonass and GPS differences:

http://beebom.com/what-is-glonass-and-how-it-is-different-from-gps/

On my Garmin devices I always use and enable Glonass...

 

[jakerichva]

I stand corrected. I should have stated that most receivers of GPS are compatible with both. That would have been a more accurate statement. Clearly the US and Russian militaries are not cooperating or collaborating on GPS/GLONASS except in avoiding orbital conflicts.

 

[LoveToMacRumors]

GPS is Global Positioning System. So the answer is that the GPS in the watch will work anywhere on the globe exactly the same.

Even in North Korea?

 

[jakerichva]

Yes, even in NK. Just about everywhere but the extreme poles (north and south) although GLONASS works slightly better at the north pole than GPS. It has to do with orbital mechanics.

As for NK, the satellites are visible from NK, so yes, GPS/GLONASS can get a fix. Unless, of course, the government decides to jam the signal frequencies.