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.
Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued.
The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring.
There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category.
M4...
Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by Juli Clover
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch.
All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Apple today announced its first custom cellular modem with the name "C1," debuting in the all-new iPhone 16e.
The new modem contributes to the iPhone 16e's power efficiency, giving it the longest battery life of any iPhone with a 6.1-inch display, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16.
Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:46 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is permanently closing its retail store at the Northbrook Court shopping mall in the Chicago area. The company confirmed the upcoming closure today in a statement, but it has yet to provide a closing date for the location.
Apple Northbrook opened in 2005, and the store moved to a larger space in the mall in 2017.
Apple confirmed that affected employees will continue to work for the...
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.
