Apple Working to Leverage New 'M7' Motion-Sensing Chip for Mapping Improvements
Alongside the new A7 main chip unveiled in the iPhone 5s this week, Apple also featured a new "M7" motion coprocessor designed to capture motion data to support new features such as health and fitness applications. As Apple notes on its feature page, the chip can also enhance mapping and location functions, helping the iPhone 5s sense and interpret movement.
The new M7 coprocessor is like a sidekick to the A7 chip. It’s designed specifically to measure motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass — a task that would normally fall to the A7 chip. But M7 is much more efficient at it. Now fitness apps that track physical activity can access that data from the M7 coprocessor without constantly engaging the A7 chip. So they require less battery power.
M7 knows when you’re walking, running, or even driving. For example, Maps switches from driving to walking turn-by-turn navigation if, say, you park and continue on foot. Since M7 can tell when you’re in a moving vehicle, iPhone 5s won’t ask you to join Wi-Fi networks you pass by. And if your phone hasn’t moved for a while, like when you’re asleep, M7 reduces network pinging to spare your battery.

But beyond those mapping and navigation features, Apple is also working on tapping into the power of the M7 to add additional enhancements in future software updates, according to a report from 9to5Mac. Those improvements include the ability to help find a parked car as well as new features for public transit navigation and indoor mapping.
Sources say that Apple is testing a tool for its Maps app that, with the M7 chip, could analyze when your car is parked. When you park your car, the iPhone will register the car’s location. Now when you return to the parking lot, your iPhone will be able to help you assist with finding your car since it knows the vehicle’s location.
Besides the car-finding feature, Apple is also working on other mapping features. Apple is said to be planning notable updates to its Maps app in iOS 8, and the company is currently working on implementing both public transit directions and indoor mapping features (which Google already has on iOS).
These potential additions should be no surprise of course, as Apple has revealed its interest in such features through recent acquisitions of several smaller companies. In particular, Apple has acquired public transit app firms HopStop and Embark and indoor mapping firm WifiSLAM within just the past six months.
The iPhone 5s with Apple's new M7 chip launches on Friday, September 20.
Popular Stories
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April.
iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer.
Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular.
Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models.
According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash.
The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today.
Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa.
Voice...
Apple is no longer allowing customers who purchase an iPhone, cellular iPad, or Apple Watch to activate a device with now-defunct mobile carrier Sprint. Apple has also removed remaining references to Sprint from its online store.
When checking out with a new purchase, Sprint is no longer an option for connectivity, a change that Apple appears to have implemented today. Prior to now, Sprint...
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968.
There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
Top Rated Comments
True. But it's still part of why I'm in the Apple ecosysytem and not Android. Yes, they both collect information about us. (I would bet Google collects the most). Apple uses that information to give us a better experience. Google will also provide you key information to improve your experience, but they are also heavily leveraging that info for advertisments etc.
Please, you're not that important :rolleyes:
Same old paranoid nonsense.
No one is interested in what your mom packed in your Transformers lunch box this morning :D
Touch ID is going to be indispensable in mobile phone usage. It will bring the power of 1Password to a smartphone with one-touch unlock. You will also see Touch ID on iPads and on MacBooks and possibly on Apple's stand-alone trackpad -- though there are some security issues with transmitting the fingerprint over wireless from the trackpad.
M7 is cool too, but Touch ID marketing is heavily muted right now because Apple is obviously making sure they can properly secure user passwords from the likes of the NSA in the wake of recent news (hence the delayed launch of iCloud Keychain).