Apple last week quietly launched a new first-party app called Indoor Survey [Direct Link], which allows its users to map out the interior space of a building using their iPhone. Spotted by developer Steve Troughton-Smith yesterday evening, the app specifically uses radio frequency signals in concert with an iPhone's various sensor data to successfully map an interior location (via AppleInsider).
The app, however, doesn't appear to be entirely functional as of yet. When prompted with Indoor Survey's home menu, after entering an Apple ID and password, users will be met with an Authorization Failed message and be barred from further accessing the app's suggested indoor mapping abilities. The app is also briefly mentioned on a banner within Apple Maps Connect after signing in, asking users to sign up to the indoor mapping initiative if they represent a venue with a handful of attributes Apple is looking for.
"Enable indoor positioning within a venue using the Indoor Survey app. By dropping 'points' on a map within the Survey App, you indicate your position within the venue as you walk through. As you do so, the indoor Survey App measures the radio frequency (RF) signal data and combines it with an iPhone's sensor data. The end result is indoor positioning without the need to install special hardware."
The new app could be the result of Apple's purchase of WifiSLAM in 2013. The indoor location company had developed a way for an app to detect someone's location within a building using Wi-Fi signals, which seems to be on par with Indoor Survey's abilities today. The technology is slightly similar to the company's iBeacons software it runs in all of its retail stores, which locates a user's iPhone when entering an Apple Store and updates them on various promotions, classes, and product information.
Currently, Indoor Survey can't be found using the search function on the App Store and can only be discovered via iTunes directly. The app was last updated on October 27, so it had been on the App Store for at least a week before anyone discovered it. The app's description mentions requiring iOS 9 or later with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch compatibility and an 18MB download size.
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why.
In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta.
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device.
The revised beta addresses an...
Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March.
As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
Apple today added M4 MacBook Air models to its refurbished store in the United States, making the latest MacBook Air devices available at a discounted price for the first time since they launched earlier this year.
Both 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are available, with Apple offering multiple capacities and configurations. The refurbished devices are discounted by approximately 15...
I hate the way shopping malls are specifically designed to get the customer lost so as to supposedly increasing the chance of a serendipitous purchase or twelve. If this can help me navigate through new (to me) public spaces more easily than by consulting mall maps or asking for directions to mall cops, I for one would be grateful.
I hate the way shopping malls are specifically designed to get the customer lost so as to supposedly increasing the chance of a serendipitous purchase or twelve. If this can help me navigate through new (to me) public spaces more easily than by consulting mall maps or asking for directions to mall cops, I for one would be grateful.
Many already do. When we built a new building back in 2005, we installed sensors within the walls throughout the $20 million building. Each employee needs a badge to get into the building. The sensors can then track that badge as you move throughout the building. Most don't even know they're being tracked.
When we renovated our new offices, we put the original 1800's copper & tin ceiling back in after the work. It's a spying, snooping, & tracking free zone.
...a nice way of saying no one can get a signal through it whatsoever.
Many already do. When we built a new building back in 2005, we installed sensors within the walls throughout the $20 million building. Each employee needs a badge to get into the building. The sensors can then track that badge as you move throughout the building. Most don't even know they're being tracked.
It's fairly common for companies to do this.
That sucks. No job is worth being tracked all day like a colony of piss ants.
