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What is SatIQ? Garmin’s location tracking tech explained
In This Article
Garmin is best known for its range of smartwatches and communicators, which offer long-lasting battery life and accurate GPS modes, allowing people to stay connected even when off the beaten track.
SatIQ is a piece of technology from Garmin that provides accurate GPS tracking while working in the background of devices to help preserve battery life.
Read on to learn more about SatiQ, how it works and which devices you can find it on.
What is SatIQ?
Coined by Garmin as “your personal navigation assistant”, SatIQ is a GPS technology that determines the optimal GPS mode based on your environment. It works in the background of your device to work out whether a stronger multi-band mode or a low power GPS mode is needed.
Multi-band GNSS is intended for more challenging environments, such as around tall buildings in urban areas or packed woodlands while low power GPS mode is intended for more open areas, such as parks.
How does SatIQ work?
SatIQ technology works by determining the environment of the device and working out what GPS strength is necessary in order to give an accurate position. GPS on its own is relatively low power and connects only to the GPS satellite system, which is just one of many GNSS systems. Even so, it still offers a solid level of accuracy when in open spaces.
However densely populated areas or canyons require a bit more work, which is where multi-band modes come in. Multi-band GPS connects to numerous frequency bands and allows for more consistent tracklogs and improved position, which means the receiver tracks more than one radio signal for each satellite. This results in positioning accuracy of around two metres, which is the same for the low power GPS.
What are the benefits of SatIQ?
One of the main benefits of SatIQ is that it allows you to maximise your device’s battery life without compromising positional accuracy. It also takes the guesswork out of choosing which GPS setting to opt for and instead is able to automatically determine the optimum mode.
If, for example, you only needed Multiband for a short period while on a run, then without SatIQ you’d need to either choose between poor positioning for that short period or a higher battery drain during the entire run. With SatIQ Auto Select mode on, the device will switch between modes in real time, depending on the environment.
Which devices are compatible with SatIQ?
SatIQ can be found in the following Garmin smartwatches:
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
