The Global Positioning System uses satellites orbiting Earth to help ships, airplanes, cars, and hikers determine their location with high accuracy. GPS works by measuring distances from a receiver to multiple satellites, with three or more distance measurements allowing the system to pinpoint a precise position through triangulation.
Google Maps on Android Auto is rolling out a persistent speedometer feature that displays speed, speed limits, traffic signals, and stop signs even without a destination set. The feature addresses user confusion after reports of the speedometer disappearing, which occurred because it previously only showed when navigation was active. This brings Android Auto's Google Maps in line with Apple CarPlay, which has had the speedometer for two years.
Google has certified a new smartwatch model (G8BL6) with the FCC, featuring GPS, Android operating system, and a metal frame. The device appeared in leaked Pixel 11 adverts alongside the Pixel Watch 5 before being removed, though Google has made no official announcement about the product.
Apple removed GLONASS satellite positioning support from the Apple Watch Ultra 4, which now supports GPS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou instead. The change may improve positioning accuracy, reduce processing demands, and extend battery life, since GLONASS's single-frequency L1 signal is less effective on dual-frequency devices. The Apple Watch Series 12 retains GLONASS support.
Vantage is a free golf GPS app for iPhone and Apple devices that tracks location on the course, with optional premium subscriptions ranging from $1.99 daily to $49.99 lifetime.
GPS-01 is an interactive demo showing how GPS localization works. Satellites in orbit broadcast time-stamped signals that receivers use to calculate distance; four satellites are needed to solve for both position and the receiver's clock bias, since cheap phone clocks introduce unknown time errors that skew distance measurements.