Location Accuracy Reduced on Apple Watch Ultra

Hello folks, I have been observing a strange behaviour on my Apple Watch Ultra.

Device Environment:

  • Apple Watch Ultra on WatchOS 10 Beta
  • Offline
  • Disconnected from companion iPhone
  • Workout active: "Walking"

Expected behaviour:

The workout should record accurate locations (with accuracy of approximately 3-4 meters). This level of accuracy is already being achieved in the same watch (verified using several GPS status apps) when a workout is not active.

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Observed behaviour:

Accuracy as good as 2 meter is observed when no workouts are active, but as soon as the workout starts, the accuracy drops to a maximum of 14 meters and never gets better than this. This is confirmed to be happening every single time and is verified using several GPS status apps during the workout.

Does anyone else has faced similar behaviour?

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Kishan_simform
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Hello! A couple things to check: 1. Are you in Low Power Mode? (The battery level platter in Control Center will be yellow if you are; you can confirm by tapping on it.) 2. Are either the Low Power Mode or Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings switches on in Settings > Workout? If the answer to these questions is no, please install the sysdiagnose profile (https://developer.apple.com/bug-reporting/profiles-and-logs/?platform=watchos), reproduce the issue, and file Feedback so we can look into it. (Post the FB number here so we can make sure it gets routed quickly!)

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Frameworks Engineer
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Hello, Thank you for quick response,

I ensured that neither Low Power Mode nor Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings switches were on and was able to reproduce it again. I have filed this observation as a Feedback (FB12890667).

Posted by
Kishan_simform
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@Frameworks Engineer Since this was picking my interest I have tried some other scenarios as well.

Firstly, only external apps seems to be suffering from this behaviour, Apple's Workouts app gives me accuracy as good as 0.5 meters. Secondly, this happens regardless of watch series or OS, same is found to be happening in all watches going back till series 3 and WatchOS 8.

Any response or acknowledgment will be highly appreciated.

Posted by
Kishan_simform
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I just posted this:

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/737819

Yes, during Open Water Swims, GPS performance on the ULTRA has degraded severely. We have several users now reporting that the GPS tracks produced during Open water workouts with either built in Workout OR with Open Water Swim are now largely unusable. I have confirmed this with my own swims as well.

I would appreciate an upvote on my post as well. BTW, the issue is identical for the built in Workout app during open water swim.

Posted by
visskiss
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Did you get feedback from anyone on the dev team about this issue?

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visskiss
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