New feature request: GPS accuracy in meters/feet + adding a satellite view app/widget

Are there any plans to expose the GPS Accuracy (in meters and/or feet) in the Connect IQ API and bring back the satellite view to the fenix 3? I've been using Garmin devices (GPSMAP, eTrex 30, Oregon 6xx, fenix 1, fenix 2, fenix 3) for the past 7 years or so and the drop of features such as gps accuracy and satellite view on the fenix 3 was a major disappointment for me (and judging by some forum posts not only me)

I assume Garmin wants to make these devices less focused on outdoor gps / hiking enthusiasts and more focused on mainstream consumers (i.e. less technically inclined people buying the watch for their daily run - much larger market) but in my view "dumbing down" the devices by replacing a perfectly usable objective measurement such as gps accuracy in meters with a subjective measurement such as "GPS Accuracy: Good" and removing satellite view will not gain new customers but will for sure result in some GPS enthusiasts such as myself eventually giving up on Garmin (when Oregon is going to be replaced I assume the new touchscreen handheld device will come with Connect IQ capabilities - if that device will "feature" GPS Accuracy: Good and no satellite view I for one will not buy that device).

The new Apple watch is coming out soon and as far as I know the GPS accuracy in meters is actually exposed by Apple for app developers to use (not an expert on iOS apps but I see that MotionX GPS on my iPhone does show the accuracy in meters) so if I teach myself how to write an Apple watch running/hiking app for myself and display the GPS accuracy in meters within that app, at that point my Apple watch will have a GPS enthusiast type feature that my fenix 3 no longer has. My point here is that Garmin's current attempt to 'dumb down' these devices in an attempt to be more Apple-like and gain more clients that way may backfire in the company actually loosing some of its core outdoor GPS enthusiasts market who would buy a Garmin device specifically because it offered more powerful features compared to the iPhone or Apple watch. As some of these power features are lost on the fenix 3 (and other upcoming devices?) then the question comes to mind, why not just buy an iPhone/iWatch combo and give up on Garmin? For now the fenix 3 still offers some things that the iWatch doesn't, longer battery life, waterproofing, sensors but I hope the point I'm trying to make above is clear...the right approach in my view is make garmin devices more simple to use for non-technical types but also keep the "power" features that GPS enthusiasts enjoy, don't just drop them! Non tech types may not care about GPS accuracy in meters or satellite view and just ignore them, but for people such as myself such features are the very reason why we are spending our hard earned cash on Garmin products..

Former Member over 10 years ago

(y)!!!
Especialy for teh data field to statistic in a hiking.

hawken over 10 years ago

We have a feature request open to look at this based on some of those other forum posts you mention. :) There are some technical complications to exposing GPS accuracy that we need to address before we can make this available. For example, each GPS chip set provides this kind of information a little differently. If we just flipped the switch and made the raw GPS accuracy available, you'd probably see really inconsistent results between different device models. On devices where this is a baked in feature (like on the eTrex), the product teams are able to tune the algorithm for their particular device. Since a Connect IQ app might run on one of several different devices, we need to be careful how we deal with these variations.

So it's not that we're trying to dumb down our devices, but we want to make sure what we make available works reliably and correctly. This is the same rationale behind not yet exposing the accelerometer in Connect IQ. It's something we certainly want to do, and a lot of people would really like to have it, but it was a matter of making something available now that has a bunch of caveats and compromises so that it's essentially useless, or hold the feature for a while until we can give you something that works really well.

thebigbadwolf_1 over 10 years ago

We have a feature request open to look at this based on some of those other forum posts you mention. :) There are some technical complications to exposing GPS accuracy that we need to address before we can make this available. For example, each GPS chip set provides this kind of information a little differently. If we just flipped the switch and made the raw GPS accuracy available, you'd probably see really inconsistent results between different device models. On devices where this is a baked in feature (like on the eTrex), the product teams are able to tune the algorithm for their particular device. Since a Connect IQ app might run on one of several different devices, we need to be careful how we deal with these variations.

So it's not that we're trying to dumb down our devices, but we want to make sure what we make available works reliably and correctly. This is the same rationale behind not yet exposing the accelerometer in Connect IQ. It's something we certainly want to do, and a lot of people would really like to have it, but it was a matter of making something available now that has a bunch of caveats and compromises so that it's essentially useless, or hold the feature for a while until we can give you something that works really well.

How about satellite view (either in Connect IQ or as a Garmin proprietary widget)?

Former Member over 10 years ago

There are some technical complications to exposing GPS accuracy that we need to address before we can make this available. For example, each GPS chip set provides this kind of information a little differently. If we just flipped the switch and made the raw GPS accuracy available, you'd probably see really inconsistent results between different device models.

We can do it with different display resolutions, different hard buttons, touch screen or with out, compass or without, round or box screen etc. We can do it too :D Flipp this switch! ;)

Former Member over 9 years ago

hawken, any update to this topic for a future Connect IQ release?

Brandon.ConnectIQ over 9 years ago

There have been several conversations about this internally.

Right now, there is no plan to expose the accuracy in terms of meters and/or feet because of the reasons I gave above.

I don't know of any specific plans to implement a satellite view page, but it's been brought up on several occasions and we (collectively, as a company) know that people are interested in seeing this information on their devices. So, while I can't make any promises, my general impression is that this is something we want to make available.

Former Member over 9 years ago

I am wondering if there has been any progress on this ?

I am planning to buy a Vivoactive HR soon (when they are available in my country) .. and would really like this information available. As I understand it .. this information is not available. As GPS is a major function .. is it a bit of a mystery to me that this GPS accuracy in meters / feet information is not available.

This will ensure that my Forerunner will never leave my wrist.

travis.vitek over 9 years ago

I'm curious to know why people feel this information is so important. What do you plan to do with it? I'm not discounting your need for this feature, just trying to determine why it would be on your must have feature list. I've used Garmin fitness devices for years and never found any need for this.

jim_m_58 over 9 years ago

Like Travis, I've used CIQ watches for some time, and personally have never seen a big need for this. I do have an Etrex that has a 'Satellite" page, and while it provides much more data about the GPS, I don't really see it as that useful.

That said I also have apps and data fields that are very dependent on GPS, and save locations along the way, alert when you return to them, and what I see in Location.accuracy today works fine (the 0-4 value), and when the activity is uploaded to GC is consistently accurate (and can often see which side of a residential street I'm on)

I think the current generation of GPS HW used in these watches is very good, and are better than older generations of chips.

Brandon.ConnectIQ over 9 years ago

There haven't been any new developments with regard to this, and there really hasn't been much pressure from the developer community to make a satellite page available. I think the interest primarily comes from users of outdoor devices (and other legacy Garmin devices) that are used to having this available. It makes a little more sense on an outdoor wearable, especially if you're in rugged terrain where you're unable to get a good acquisition. Having the satellite page might help you decide on a better location to improve reception.

I agree with Travis and jim_m_58 that this kind of feature is much less useful on a fitness device. I'll create a new ticket for the satellite page, even though this has been discussed quite a bit already, and see if we can get it to the device teams for consideration.