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To: brokenst0nes who wrote (154)	10/4/2013 9:56:49 PM
From: Taylor Mill	Respond to of 351

Based on reading the article, it's hard to conclude the sensors are the problem. If something is causing reading from all three sensors to be bad then it makes one think there is a problem elsewhere besides all three devices miraculously being flawed. Otherwise the degree of coincidence for all three to misbehave is not plausible.

To: brokenst0nes who wrote (154)	10/5/2013 1:22:19 PM
From: GPS Info	Respond to of 351

the fact that it doesn't show up on an iPhone 5 running iOS 7—that the hardware isn't being properly calibrated in the factory, and that means that there are millions of phones out there that might never be exactly right. It is most likely that these low-cost MEMS sensor "might never be exactly right." These sensor were never meant for engineering purposes. Uncalibrated, they work well enough for orienting the phone and determining which side is up. I don't think the manufactures of the accelerometers will soon suggest that a software application can achieve 1 degree of accuracy. You will be lucky to get 5 degrees for an inclinometer without some calibration process. In the early '90s there was a digital level that required a calibration process where the user would set the unit on a surface and then flip it 180 degrees. The surface didn't need to be level for a proper calibration. Something like this might be possible for the accelerometers, but the calibration process would probably need to be done in two dimensions. This would not be very easy for the average user. It should be understood that an accelerometer can give a roll and pitch estimate, but it cannot by itself give an compass heading. This requires a magnetometer. In earlier versions of the iPhone, the magnetometer would fall out of calibration fairly easily. There are several internet videos showing how to recalibrate the magnetometer. I remember a video showing that this could never be done if there was another magnetic field present - like in the front seat of car. There are probably very good reasons for not specifying the accuracy of these sensor applications, and they definitely won't be as accurate as some people might expect. It's possible that Apple could push a calibration tool or software fix that accounts for the inconsistent hardware performance in existing handsets I think Apple will necessarily pass the buck to the software developers. Poor results from uncalibrated MEMS sensors will be a common feature and not always a bug.