Apple’s iPhone 5S is a great phone, but perfect it is not. While not making headlines on the same scale as antennagate, issues with inaccurate motion sensor readings have been bad enough to inspire their own nickname. Known in some circles as gyrogate, the problem results in gyroscope, compass, and accelerometer data that is off by as much as 5 degrees.
The obvious result is that iOS 7’s compass and level app isn’t quite as helpful on the iPhone 5S. The real effects are more widespread, leading to imprecise controls in games that utilize the accelerometer.
Development house RealityCap has pinpointed the problem, and it indeed concerns the phones hardware. Apple switched from sensors sourced from STMicroelectronics to parts from Bosch Sensortech. The issue itself stems from the particular measurement bias of each component. The Bosch Sensortech part has a higher bias than the component used in older iPhone models.
The proper way to handle this is by adjusting for bias at the factory, but Apple doesn’t seem to think the problem is worth taking the extra step before shipping handsets out. A software fix, however, could still help. Whether or not Apple take it upon themselves to release one, RealityCap has already started work on their own. In short, it’s an easy method of calibration that developers can incorporate into their third-party apps, allowing users to calibrate for each app individually.
It’s not the most elegant solution, and it requires more work on both the developer’s end and the user’s, but it’s better than games rendered unplayable due to wonky controls. It’s definitely better than a crooked shelf hung as the result of a poorly calibrated digital level.
[via RealityCap]
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TAGS: Gyrogate
