Does anyone know if the GPS chip inside the iPhone 6 is WAAS enabled? The only specs Apple seems to post is that the chips are compatible with both the US GPS and Russian GLONASS systems.
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iPhone 6 GPS Chip Specs
- Thread starter Kestrel452
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I was under the impression that WAAS was purely designed for aviation. IF that is correct why would it be in an iPhone?
WAAS was initially designed for aircraft use but I believe most currently produced GPS units are WAAS capable. I have a handheld Garmin Etrex Vista that is WAAS capable. Whether or not iPhones are WAAS capable is an interesting question.
I would go on the assumption that if Apple isn't listing WAAS in the specs, then it's either incapable of WAAS or the feature was disabled as a design choice.
I wouldn't be surprised that WAAS wasn't a feature they would focus on, since it is a North America-only system, with other countries developing their own systems that might or might not be compatible. Meanwhile, there's a lot greater coverage worldwide from cell sites with known locations able to act as location references, and crowdsourced WiFi hotspot databases that can also be used to augment location data. The GPS in iPhones definitely use these to keep their location data more accurate.
I wouldn't be surprised that WAAS wasn't a feature they would focus on, since it is a North America-only system, with other countries developing their own systems that might or might not be compatible. Meanwhile, there's a lot greater coverage worldwide from cell sites with known locations able to act as location references, and crowdsourced WiFi hotspot databases that can also be used to augment location data. The GPS in iPhones definitely use these to keep their location data more accurate.