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Health App Step Length

I am curious as to what a 'step' length is within the iphone Health app logic. The app registers steps and miles. Is a step 12 inches? So if my stride is 2.5 feet and the iphone logs that I have walked 1746 steps, have I gone 1746 feet or some factor of the iphone 'step length'? i.e.: if iphone has a step at 2.5 feet, I would have actually walked 4365 feet. ??????? How can I trust the 'miles' on my dashboard?

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 8.1

Posted on Mar 5, 2015 11:02 AM

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Posted on Aug 29, 2017 9:30 AM

The Apple health app in nothing more than a toy and using it to measure activity is a huge waste of time. On 8/27/2017 my wife and I went on several walking tours in Washington D.C. We were never more than 30 feet apart the entire day and her phone (both are iPhone 6+) registered more than 7.5 miles walked and mine registered 5.1. . There was also a large discrepancy in stairs climbed. I understand that there is a difference in the length of our strides but supposedly the app uses GPS for calculating distance. If that's true then this app is woefully broken and just a flashy, useless bauble.

27 replies

Jun 6, 2015 6:49 AM in response to Halle

Halle wrote:


HI,

I really appreciate your responses. It's been most helpful in understanding how the Health app works. Taking a drive on a 'rough' road meant going" above and beyond"! Thanks!

Hal

PS: I tried to mark your last post as 'helpful', but for some reason it wouldn't take. But, as I said above, it was very helpful!

Well, I had to get somewhere, and Manhattan is in the process of repaving the streets in the West 40's blocks. So it wasn't like I had a choice, going from the Intrepid to the Central Park Zoo 😉

Jun 16, 2015 7:21 PM in response to patstg

Interesting to note that steps does not enter into the calculation of distance. I expected that it did. Nice to know that and not expect

more from it than just a count of steps. BTW, Dashboard consistently computes my distance traveled as greater than the distance

that the MapMyTracks app does. I understand how extra jiggling can cause extra steps, but both apps supposedly use GPS. Maybe

the app needs further 'tuning'?

Oct 3, 2016 3:53 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

I appreciate your answer. It does provide some insight.


However, I find the iPhone GPS tends measure distance on the light side. I have compared the distances recorded in the Health app to distances measured by my Garmin Oregon GPS device and known distances and I find the iPhone distances are significantly on the light side.


i would tend to expect this as I would fully expect the iPhone would be blocked from GPS signals at times due to cover from trees, tall structures, etc. Adding to that issue, I carry the iPhone in a pants pocket. If I were to guess, the phone is probably filling in gaps by assuming a straight line. This probably produces a reasonable result on city streets, but not on a hiking trail.

May 25, 2017 7:11 AM in response to James C Austin

James C Austin wrote:

As others have pointed out, it cannot possibly be true that IOS/iPhone uses GPS for distance.

Yes, it's true.



To call this question "solved" is simply wrong. This issue remains unsettled.

The original poster gets to mark the thread as "Solved". I'd suggest you start a new thread and describe your particular issue. You'll get more attention to it that way. Explain what's happening and what troubleshooting steps you've already taken.


Best of luck.

Health App Step Length

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