Apple has recently announced that it will be adding support for India’s GPS alternative, NavIC, to its new iPhone 15 Pro models. This move comes as Apple appears to be complying with New Delhi’s push to adopt the home-grown navigation system. NavIC, which stands for Navigation with Indian Constellation, was developed by India’s space research organization ISRO and became operational in 2018. It aims to provide accurate positioning and timing information over India and the surrounding region.
Key Takeaway
Apple has added support for India’s GPS alternative, NavIC, to its iPhone 15 Pro models, marking the first time that Apple has included NavIC support in its devices. NavIC aims to provide accurate positioning and timing information across India and the surrounding region. The push for NavIC support comes as part of India’s efforts to establish an independent navigation satellite system. While the standard iPhone 15 models do not support NavIC, several other smartphone manufacturers already offer support for the Indian navigation system.
Support for NavIC in iPhone 15 Pro
Apple has listed support for NavIC on the tech specs page of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This marks the first time that Apple has included support for NavIC in any of its iPhone models. However, Apple has not yet specified which features of NavIC will be included in the deployment. An Apple spokesperson has not yet commented on the matter.
The standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus variants do not support NavIC, as stated in their official tech specs.
NavIC and its Applications
NavIC is India’s attempt to build an independent standalone navigation satellite system. It relies on over half a dozen satellites to provide coverage across the entire landmass of India. The system has various applications, including transportation (terrestrial, aerial, and marine), location-based services, personal mobility, resource monitoring, surveying and geodesy, scientific research, time dissemination and synchronization, as well as safety-of-life alert dissemination.
Push for NavIC Support
Last year, the Indian government pushed smartphone manufacturers to add support for NavIC within a few quarters. However, many manufacturers were concerned that the necessary hardware changes would increase the cost of the phones. Despite this, several smartphones, including Xiaomi’s Mi 11X, 11T Pro, OnePlus Nord 2T, and Realme 9 Pro, already offer support for NavIC.
