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iPhone SE and the missing barometer

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blinkie said:
So the perfect adventure phone.... Just to conclude that. Small and unobtrusive, a compass, GPS and GLONASS (Galileo GNSS when available), a BAROMETER and a degree of water resistance. Apple, you're so close.

What other measurement hardware / sensors would you include?
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Actually, I wouldn't rely on a phone if I'm that afield.
I hike, ride, and I do field work with my retrievers. In those instances where I'm going to be far into the woods or if I'm going on a hike, I pack standalone analog equipment.
I can't imagine serious climbers would rely on a phone that could or could not get adequate signal or run out of battery. I know I don't.
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I7guy said:
I use a barometer app to track the atmospheric pressure and the readings over time are indicative of when I will get a sinus attack. So not useless.
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REALLY?!?!!? Dang I've never thought of this!!! DUH!!!! thank you, might be something to try for mine.
 
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TurboPGT! said:
The iPhone SE is an upgrade to the iPhone 5s. It is not meant to be an alternative to the iPhone 6s.
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Agreed, they needed to differentiate the SE from their flagship phone, what surprised me the most is that they added a lot of the 6s components into the phone. I think its a great bargain given the price.
 
TurboPGT! said:
The iPhone SE is an upgrade to the iPhone 5s. It is not meant to be an alternative to the iPhone 6s.
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Well, speak for yourself. For me, it absolutely is the better alternative to the 6S (and an upgrade from my 6), because it has two killer features: It is truly pocketable, and it doesn't feel like a slippery piece of soap in my hand. :p That easily outweighs a barometer and "dual domain pixels" (whatever that is) for me. It may even be faster than the 6S at certain tasks because it has fewer pixels to move around (not that it would matter much).
 
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Qbnkelt said:
Actually, I wouldn't rely on a phone if I'm that afield.
I hike, ride, and I do field work with my retrievers. In those instances where I'm going to be far into the woods or if I'm going on a hike, I pack standalone analog equipment.
I can't imagine serious climbers would rely on a phone that could or could not get adequate signal or run out of battery. I know I don't.
Click to expand...

Oh don't worry. I don't rely on it at all. I use paper maps and a compass all the time.
 
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Since the phones should be arriving soon:

Could someone check if "Flights Climbed" is measured in the Health app on the iPhone SE?

Probably not, but would like to know this for sure.
 
willmtaylor said:
I think that's the question. Is that going to be missing with out a barometer or has Apple developed a workaround?
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My older phone that I had which didn't have a barometer did not measure stairs. There isn't a work around, no barometer no way to discern elevation changes.
 
Indeed. It's the first phone without a barometer, but with the M9 chip. So maybe they can do some fancy calculations with just the M9.
 
maflynn said:
My older phone that I had which didn't have a barometer did not measure stairs. There isn't a work around, no barometer no way to discern elevation changes.
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I've also read that some apps utilize the accelerometer in devices without barometers. Then there's the M9.
 
Due to the sensitivity in measurements of a baramoeter its only useful for tracking relative elevation changes. iPhones with it use it to track flights climbed. It's relative based off movement calculations in the M9 processor.

Weather conditions are completely out of the question. Turning on your HVAC indoors will have an effect on pressures. Walking up a flight of stairs is a bigger change then some of the largest storms moving in. If you stood outside in a specific locations you might be able to pull some useful information from the baramoeter data but not much.

At one time it was used to aid in gps lock and accuracy. Don't know if that still holds true or not.

As an avid backpacker/climber I don't see much of a use for it. Some might I'm not sure, but before smart phones I never met anyone on the trails carrying a dedicated barometer. I wouldn't lose much sleep over the omission of a barometer.
 
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C64 said:
Since the phones should be arriving soon:

Could someone check if "Flights Climbed" is measured in the Health app on the iPhone SE?

Probably not, but would like to know this for sure.
Click to expand...
Has anyone tried it out yet? Thanks in advance!
 
I would really welcome if I have a barometer in my phone. This can help me to know more about my daily activity.
And watching how many steps I have taken and how many floors I have climbed a day is really enjoyable.
 
maflynn said:
Yes, I know, but its the elevation changes that are recorded as the atmospheric pressure changes, hence what I wrote.
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If the iphone SE has the new water-sealing gasket around the inside of the bezel (as shown by ifixit teardown), doesn't it also make it air-proof (to a degree)? Why would you expect an internal barometer to accurately measure air pressure, when the outside air cannot make it in freely?
 
electronicsguy said:
Why would you expect an internal barometer to accurately measure air pressure, when the outside air cannot make it in freely?
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Perhaps, I am not familiar with the gasket, but wouldn't air penetration occur from the phone jack or speakers? I'm not disputing your logic, or possible reasons for not including it. I like the hearing that it has a gasket, that can only be good news :)
 
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Elisha said:
Among all the things to complain about, this is the silliest.
I would have ranked the wifi capability or the selfie camera first. Maybe even the older touch id. The barometer is the least of my worries.
This is what happens when manufacturers include stuff that you don't know was of any use or needed and then take it away. Now all of a sudden you can't live without it as if you used it on a daily basis or need it to survive!
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To be fair. For some people fitness is life. The same as I'm sure you wouldn't prefer a car that came with Windows you need to manually roll down, or go back to edge data.

As new features and technology become available. People make use of it. Nothing out of the ordinary for that.
 
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Elisha said:
Among all the things to complain about, this is the silliest.
I would have ranked the wifi capability or the selfie camera first. Maybe even the older touch id. The barometer is the least of my worries.
This is what happens when manufacturers include stuff that you don't know was of any use or needed and then take it away. Now all of a sudden you can't live without it as if you used it on a daily basis or need it to survive!
Click to expand...

Yet you list a number of capabilities that weren't completely removed.

The OP specifically mentioned an adventure phone. His post is bang on. Some of us like to get into the back country.
 
maflynn said:
Perhaps, I am not familiar with the gasket, but wouldn't air penetration occur from the phone jack or speakers? I'm not disputing your logic, or possible reasons for not including it. I like the hearing that it has a gasket, that can only be good news :)
Click to expand...

well of course air penetration will occur...just like water. question is: is the pressure the same. if not, the barometer is useless.
 
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