Let us take a step back and look at the innovations in technology that make up the Apple Watch GPS feature.
The oldest piece of technology here is the time teller; the watch has been around for hundreds of years. The wristwatch came to fruition around the sixteenth century.
Global Positioning Systems have been used since their invention for military purposes when US Naval Officer Roger L. Easton created the Navy Space Surveillance System in 1956.
Nearly twenty years later, innovations in communication technology gave rise to Motorola’s first portable cell phone in 1973.
Now, the smartphone has become a staple for the general population in the early twenty-first century. So naturally, GPS features on those phones quickly followed, and not far behind came the smartwatch, including the Apple watch.
What is the GPS Made of?
To start, Global positioning systems will comprise various computer programs and networks working together, meaning there need to be satellites in place, or the devices will not be able to triangulate a position.
Then, from those satellites, a device can bounce a signal off them, to be collected by a computing service that then interprets where the piece of technology is located on the planet.
This means that the watch, and phone, must have software and hardware dedicated to the GPS network, which must be in sync with the cellular company’s satellite positioning technology.
How Does it Work?
It starts with the smart device, which sends out a ‘ping’ to the satellites that are within range.
And from the signal, a satellite will then send it to a receiving dish in order to communicate with the computerized software and hardware of the app provider or Apple cell phone company.
Of course, all of this must work in quick succession, especially for the live tracking feature that many mapping and fitness apps require to offer full services.
There has been a rise in the use of this technology by fitness companies, which offer tracking of health vitals along with other tracking services.
Is the GPS on Apple Watch always working?
The GPS feature that comes standard on all Apple watches will have the option to turn the services off, but even then, there can be ‘lost my device’ tracking services that will be active.
So, in short, yes, the GPS will function in the background unless manually shut down using the software.
Now, most will wonder if their watches will work in heavy urban downtown skyrise areas but also in the wilderness and mountainous areas of the world.
Yes, they will work in these areas, but the technology is still currently a little buggy – granted, Apple’s technology is always improving rapidly in most cases.
How Accurate is it?
As early as 2019, fitness running GPS technology proved the gadget was extremely inaccurate and produced useless data when it came to training statistics outside of timing.
However, today’s Apple Watch Ultra is going to be arguably the most accurate Smartwatch fitness GPS device on the market right now.
There is going to be some jumping around. The tracking technology is working on the ‘line of sight’ issue that occurs when large objects, like buildings, obstruct the satellites’ view of the gadget.
Innovations include cellular network compensatory aides or updated satellite technology that can use 3-D projections or modeling to compensate for the obstruction.
How Good is the Apple Watch GPS?
There are going to be claims by other companies that have the most accurate global positioning system features and applications.
Garmin has been making GPS handheld devices for dozens of years, which bodes well for their smartwatches and the accuracy with which they operate.
In recent years, Apple has become a leader in these GPS features, especially those concerning athletic training and fitness goal-seeking endeavors.
The Apple Smart Watch Ultra edition has even reached an agreement with Nike to create special edition fitness smart Apple watches for athletes to train with.
This being said, if Apple Smart Watches are not the leaders in fitness GPS features, then they will certainly be in the top three products available to the public.
Final Thoughts on What is an Apple Watch GPS
When you compare the Apple Smartwatch to its closest competitors, you will find that it rarely is outdone anywhere across the United States.
However, looking to the future, especially in communication and space technology, it will be interesting to see how our gadgets change and what pieces of hardware become obsolete.
Global positioning systems will need to evolve into solar system positioning networks if we are to become an interplanetary species. These networks will have to guide travelers, supplies, commercial vehicles, and food and life-sustaining equipment operation ships.