Question Phone with the most accurate GPS ?

[louiswho]

The Garmin 67i uses 5 sensors (https://gearjunkie.com/technology/gadgets/best-handheld-gps). What is the most accurate GPS phone in 2024 (Android\whatever). I have a Galaxy s21.

Also, is there an android app that you can enter a GPS coordinate into, and walk to it, and it will tell you when you are there (like a Garmin device)?

 

[VidJunky]

What is your goal with this? I'm asking to try and figure out how accurate you want to be in 2024? Are you going to a store, or event? I mean those are often pretty large venues making missing them difficult, so do you need to be within feet accurate, within inches accurate?

How accurate do you think a Garmin is?

Most devices only have accuracy within a few meters, even stand alone GPS units have accuracy within meters. Only the government and military are inch accurate. In fact every device I know carriers this same disclaimer.

With a clear view of the sky, most consumer-grade GPS receivers can determine your position with an accuracy of about 3 to 5 meters (10 to 16 feet). In real-world conditions, such as when there are obstacles like buildings or trees, the accuracy can decrease to about 10 to 20 meters (33 to 66 feet).Sep 16, 2023

You can read more on this here.

Or do you mean best by human interface? That's a subjective opinion which will get you a dozen answers from 10 different people.

Are you trying to play a game like Geocaching? There are several apps with good ratings for that on the Play Store. Most will allow you to enter raw GPS coordinates in order to find things in the game. A simple search of the Play Store will show a dozen or more apps either for the game or related to navigating. Garmin has their own app there if that's what you prefer. I do believe Garmin thinks they are the best because if memory serves they charge for their app. So how much do you like them? Personally not enough to pay for something I get for free. On a side note you put raw GPS coordinates in Google Maps and use the walking navigation feature to get there.

Let us know if this answers your question.

Best wishes.

 

[louiswho]

I am trying to find some land plot markers that because of slopes, many years of dirt accumulation, large trees that have moved rocks with drill holes, etc. I had thought that I had read that the Garmin were much more accurate than the phones. (to within a few few feet...(incorrect ?). My s21 is a few years old and I was hoping that newer phones were more accurate. I would mark a point where I have found a marker, use an online program to calculate the next GPS point (using the meets and bounds of the plot plan), and be able to walk to that point, and hopefully find the marker. Then whenever I wanted to, use a map with the GPS points to find them again. I don't expect to be inches away, but am looking for more accuracy than what I currently have,

 

[smvim]

After taking a couple of multi-state road trips with friends using both Garmins and smartphones, a Garmin easily worked out better for over-all navigating and a cleaner user interface. A smartphone was a little better for congested traffic involving accidents and/or construction projects.
But that isn't surprising given that a Garmin is essentially a single-purpose device while a smartphone is multipurpose device that's good for a lot of things but not necessarily the best for specific tasks.
I'd suggest you set your expectations accordingly.

That said, you might want to see if you can optimize your phone's GPS service at least a little bit. Try installing this GPS Status & Toolbox app:

GPS Status & Toolbox - Apps on Google Play

Get a faster GPS fix! ...and so much more...

play.google.com

It starts up with a nice, detailed, multi-level compass but within the app's Status/settings are three options for you to use -- Compass calibration, Calibrate pitch & roll, and Manage A-GPS state. This 'might' help but do not get your hopes' up too much.

 

[joeldf]

I am trying to find some land plot markers that because of slopes, many years of dirt accumulation, large trees that have moved rocks with drill holes, etc. I had thought that I had read that the Garmin were much more accurate than the phones. (to within a few few feet...(incorrect ?). My s21 is a few years old and I was hoping that newer phones were more accurate. I would mark a point where I have found a marker, use an online program to calculate the next GPS point (using the meets and bounds of the plot plan), and be able to walk to that point, and hopefully find the marker. Then whenever I wanted to, use a map with the GPS points to find them again. I don't expect to be inches away, but am looking for more accuracy than what I currently have,

You're talking about land surveyor level accuracy here. You will not get that with any regular GPS device, which includes phones and Garmin devices.

You need specialized surveying equipment which can include a base receiver that is stationed somewhere to get both L1 and L2 (military level) GPS signals.

I mean, you could get lucky with a Garmin, but those are meant to keep you within a 10' wide path. If you want to dig a whole 100 square foot of dirt around at a time, good luck.

 

[VidJunky]

@joeldf beat me to it. You're wanting land surveying level accuracy from equipment that is intentionally handicapped by the government. Even the standalone GPS units have to comply with this requirement. Years ago when GPS was first being released to the public in any significant way you could buy add on accessories that made the GPS more accurate. I don't remember if they were just antennas or if they were some kind of device as well but they claimed to get you with-in feet of your waypoint. The flip side of this, is you also have to accurate waypoint data, so it isn't just the equipment.

If you're really interested in just finding waypoints or markers that you have the coordinates for most GPS units can do this. Again, they are accurate to within a few meters in most cases and making 3 or 4 meter circles shouldn't be a challenge compared to getting close to remote waypoints. You should look into the game of Geocaching. At places like geocaching.com you can talk to people who take finding waypoints seriously in a fun way. They know the equipment and how to use it, users and the site have suggestions for what is good equipment and what is not.

I think you're asking your question in the wrong place to find the answer you want.

 

[VidJunky]

Yeah it was its own device that you added to the GPS for accuracy.

Just an extra grand or so for centimeter level accuracy.

High Accuracy GPS / GNSS

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gpswebshop.com

 

[louiswho]

So, the replies indicate that there are no phones (sold in the USA), with better GPS than the s21 that I have... https://www.terralabgis.com/blog/mo...n open sky conditions,trailing that at 3.95 m.

I did download and install GPS Status...interesting. Using the compass on the s21 slide out bar, pointing at a specific spot, it said 296, switched to the GPS Status app (without moving the phone), it says 282. Put a hand held compass on the same spot and direction, it said 296. That was inside, pointing to outside, through slider. Went outside, and the difference was 4 degrees more. Don't think that the GPS Status app is accurate.