Summary
iPhones made in 2014+ have a barometer for real-time elevation tracking.
A barometer measures air pressure, which is crucial for calculating altitude changes.
The native iPhone Compass app has a built-in feature for instant elevation data.
You can't imagine some of the crazy searches Google sees every day. Why is the sky blue, who is the president right now, and the universal "why do I have a headache," which usually results in the internet warning you of impending death and doom. But even today, with all the information at our fingertips, there are still some hyper-specific questions that aren't a Google search away.
I'm talking about right here, right now, questions. You can't ask Google how many inches long a rock you found on the ground is. Luckily, that's where app developers and phone makers get pretty clever.
Whenever I go on a hike , I love seeing how high I climb -- not for any tracking data or anything. Sometimes pondering curiosity hits you in the moment, and getting the answer right away is a cute little dopamine hit that you can turn around to your buddy and say, "hey, look at our elevation right now."
So, here's how to measure elevation with your iPhone.
Compass app on iPhone.
Compass
You can use the compass app to determine direction, altitude, and location coordinates using GPS and a built-in magnetometer. It also has a leveling tool and can display elevation.
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How to measure elevation on your iPhone
Let's see how high you are
A mountain range with the compass app over it.
Apple / Pocket-lint
All the models made in 2014 and after have a built-in barometer that your phone uses to determine its elevation at that moment.
Open the "Compass" app.
Make sure you have Location Services enabled for the Compass app. To enable it, go to Settings > scroll down to Apps > search for Compass or scroll to select it > select Location > share your location.
If you left the Compass app, open it again. At the bottom, there will be exact coordinates, your city location, and the Elevation at the very bottom.
If you have an iPhone 6 or over, you can do this nifty little trick.
It's easy, fast, and right there on your iPhone. Like a lot of native features, it gets the job done. But there are plenty of other third-party apps out there that give you even more precise readings, plus some other bells and whistles.
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Obviously, it's not the wonderful golden ring on my index finger that's making my quality of sleep worthy of an intervention. Snooze-ability wasn't in my top five favorable skills even before I started sporting the smart ring -- that's actually why I bought it in the first place. It's my favorite -- and most stylish -- fitness track I've ever used. However, unlike the Apple Watches and FitBits I've worn in the past, Oura rings don't have a visible interface right on the device itself. On the one hand, it's favorable because I don't get distracted by its random dings and rings or even flashy notifications. In fact, I usually only check it once per day -- right when I wake up in the morning, because I'm eager to see how I slept. Could I just close my eyes and do a quick body scan to get an intuitive read on my restfulness? Absolutely. But do I instead slide down vigorously and refresh until I see a number that never goes above 80 to determine how I slept? Definitely. It's almost always
What is a barometer?
And how it works
A barometer against a mountain range.
Niclasbo from Getty Images Signature / Pocket-lint
A barometer is a tool that measures atmospheric pressure -- you probably built one using an old coffee can and a balloon back in elementary school. It's often associated with predicting short-term weather forecasts, but it can also measure elevation.
As you ascend, the air pressure drops because there's less air above pushing down. Barometers measure this pressure decrease to estimate altitude. But, weather changes can also have an effect on air pressure, so a barometric altimeter has to be recalibrated periodically using a known elevation -- AKA, a fixed location.
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So how do we elevation?
From that fixed location
An airplane in the sky.
Tookapic from Pexels
A barometer measures air pressure, which decreases as you go higher. Since we know how pressure changes with altitude, we can calculate how far we've moved up or down from that known elevation point. This is why hikers, pilots, and surveyors use barometric altimeters -- they start with a fixed reference and can track their elevation changes accurately.
I'd recommend trusting your native iPhone Compass app here rather than breaking out the pen and paper on the hiking trail -- unless you're an avid hobby-physicist.
There are some pretty gnarly-looking mathematical calculations, so I'd recommend trusting your native iPhone Compass app here rather than breaking out the pen and paper on the hiking trail -- unless you're an avid hobby-physicist, that is.
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