I just checked again. I was not mistaken. IDevices definitely get GPS data over the ad hoc connection to an iPhone in real-time. I don't know if OS X receivea this data however.
You're getting A-GPS or Assisted GPS. Its not the same. Wifi ios devices can only use A-GPS, while cellular ios devices have a deticated GPS receiver, and can use both A-GPS and GPS.
Here is a good read on it.
GPS
GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in an orbit. These satellites continuously send information to the earth via radio waves. Messages transmitted by the satellites include (a) the time the message was transmitted, (b) the ephemeris or the information about the orbit, and (c) the almanac or the health and rough orbits of all the satellites. GPS receivers use these signals by calculating the time at which the signals were sent by the satellites and time at which they were received on Earth. Once the GPS receiver knows the position of at least four satellites and the transmit time of each (this is called time to first fix), it is able to lock its own location. This method of computing is called trilateration.
It may take 3 sec to a couple of minutes to get the signal depending upon the location and amount of interference. Interferences may be because of the terrain or number of buildings, foliage, atmospheric inconsistencies etc. This would result in signals reflecting off and having multiple paths.
A-GPS
Now, in case of an A-GPS device it uses the existing servers for e.g. of the mobile network tower and bases to get the information from the satellites. Since these servers are continually sending and receiving information there is no delay in knowing the exact orbit and time location of the satellites. In other words the time to first fix is a lot faster than a normal GPS. Also these servers have good computation power so they can analyze the fragmentary signals received from the GPS receiver and those received directly from the satellite and thus correct the error. It will then inform the receiver its exact location.
On the other hand, an A-GPS device uses existing servers e.g. mobile network cellsites to get the information from the satellites. Since these servers are closer and better connected to mobile devices, and are continually sending and receiving information, there is no delay in knowing the exact orbit and time location of the satellites. In other words the time to first fix is a lot faster than a normal GPS. Moreover these servers have good computation power so they can analyze the fragmentary signals received from the GPS receiver and those received directly from the satellite and thus correct the error. It will then inform the receiver its exact location.
A-GPS is faster in finding the location but GPS gives a more precise location information and another advantage is its ability to lock on directly to the satellites. While there is no additional cost involved in using GPS devices, an A-GPS has additional cost involved because it uses services and resources of the wireless carrier's mobile network. Some A-GPS models have the ability to link up to GPS satellites directly in case the assistance server is not available or if it out of cellular network coverage area, but GPS devices cannot log on to a cellular network.
