Apple adds India’s NavIC support to iPhones with new iPhone 15 series

Apple has added support for NavIC, India’s homegrown GPS alternative, to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This is the first time that Apple has added support for NavIC to any of its iPhones. This move appears to align with India’s efforts to promote the adoption of India’s indigenous alternative to the GPS navigation system.

What is NavIC?
NavIC formerly known as Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is a regional navigation satellite system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is designed with a constellation of 7 satellites and a network of ground stations operating 24 x 7 to provide accurate positioning, navigation, and timing services in India and the surrounding region. NavIC is similar to GPS, but it has some advantages like better accuracy in mountainous and urban areas.

NavIC offers two services: Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian users and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users. A few of its applications include transportation (terrestrial, aerial and marine), location-based services, personal mobility, resource monitoring, surveying and geodesy, scientific research and more.

According to a Reuters report, India last year pushed several tech giants to add support for its home-grown navigation system. This worried several companies like Apple and Samsung as they feared that the move would lead to cost surge and several hardware changes.

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are the first iPhones to support NavIC. These phones will be available for buying from September 22. In addition to NavIC, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will also support GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou.

iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max succeed last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. The phones come with improved camera capabilities and A17 Pro Chip. Apple has added a customisable action button that can be used to activate features like Silent mode, Focus, Camera, Flashlight, Voice Memo, Translate, Magnifier, Shortcut and Accessibility.