The "iPhone doesn't support the BeiDou navigation" issue has attracted widespread attention in China recently.
According to Apple's website, all iPhone 6 to iPhone 11 series, as well as iPhone SE first and second-generation devices have built-in GPS/GNSS in terms of the cellular network and wireless connectivity.
GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite System, which includes four global systems: U.S. GPS, Russian GLONASS, European Union GALILEO, and China's BeiDou satellite navigation system.
The Intel baseband used in Apple's last four generations of phones is to support BeiDou navigation and positioning. However, according to an Apple employee, the official documents have mentioned that the BeiDou signal used in iPhone has the following features Performance issues have led Apple to block the BeiDou signal.
The latest iPhone 11 series, for example, supports GPS, GNSS, digital compass, WLAN, cellular networks, and iBeacon micro-location, with no support for the BeiDou system listed.
Industry insiders say that the iPhone technically supports BeiDou navigation without any problem, but Apple doesn't provide this support for various reasons.
According to Yang Changfeng, the chief engineer of the BeiDou satellite navigation system in China, more than 70% of smartphones in China already support the BeiDou navigation service.
More than half of the countries in the world are connected to the BeiDou system, Yang said.
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