The Apple Watch seems to be becoming more and more independent of the iPhone. As discovered by a user on Tuesday (20), Apple’s three latest smartwatch models stopped using iPhone GPS signal and began to track the locomotion of users through their own sensors.
All models released up to the Watch Series 7, when they are close to their paired iPhone, use the cell phone’s geolocation sensors to save battery life by tracking the user. The 2nd generation Watch Series 8, Watch Ultra and Watch SE do it differently: these watches use their own mechanism, even close to an iPhone.
The North American manufacturer’s support page mentions the following:
The Apple Watch Ultra, Series 8, and SE (2nd generation) use the Apple Watch’s built-in GPS even when your iPhone is nearby. To preserve battery life, older Apple Watch models use iPhone GPS when available.
Previous smartwatch models adopted this behavior to save their own battery, since geolocation tracking can consume a lot of energy, and it is much more convenient to recharge the cell phone than removing the smartwatch from the wrist to fill its small battery.
On the other hand, relying on the iPhone’s navigation system can reduce GPS tracking accuracy. This is because the cell phone would remain in the athlete’s pocket or backpack during physical activity, for example, causing its antennas to become blocked and not accurately identify the user’s position.
Unless the user had the cell phone in hand at all times — something impossible for a racing cyclist, for example — tracking would be inaccurate and could generate incorrect data. By using clock mechanisms, detection is much more assertive.
This indicates that the Apple is focused on delivering more accurate fitness metrics to users, and seems more confident about the battery life of new smartwatches — an area where big tech tends to fall short, although the latest generations have discreetly evolved in charging time.
The Watch Ultra is Apple’s most advanced smartwatch. With up to 36 hours of autonomy, the wearable has titanium construction and resists up to 100 meters deep in water. Other features include Fall Detection, Crash Detection, temperature sensor and menstrual cycle tracking with last ovulation estimates.
