Recommendation for mid priced smart phone with magnetometer-compass capability

[steady123]

All, anyone have a recomendation for a mid priced (<= $500) android phone which supports compass apps? I don't care too much about the camera. Need to load apps which utilize the compass capability. Online queries do not give me consistent specs on phone sensors. Recommendations appreciated. Steady

[eabyrd1506]

Moro g5th gen


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[eabyrd1506]

Moot not Moro. Great phone and under $300. Fully gps capable


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[eabyrd1506]

Damn you autocorrect. MOTO.


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[DownEaster]

From what I've gathered online the Moto G5 and G5+ lack magnetic sensors, so no compass apps will work. I know for certain that my Moto G4 does not have a magnetic sensor.

If you're only concerned with GPS, the Moto Gs are very good Android phones.

[Slo-go'en]

I just tried the first compass app on the list on my $75 ZTE phone and it works. It works without the GPS position turned on, but is more accurate with the GPS since it is corrected for declination. With the declination turned off, it shows north the as the same direction as my magnetic compass does. I suppose now I should try my really cheap LG Tracfone. I suspect it will work there too.

No go with the cheap Tracfone LG phone. Oh well.

[soumodeler]

The US versions of the Moto G5 Plus and G5S plus should have a compass according to what I can find online. International versions do not.

I would recommend this phone for sure. Always loved Moto products. It was my second choice but I ended up getting the Pixel 2 XL.

[Slo-go'en]

If you do end up with a phone without the magnetic sensor, you can get a GPS based compass. It might drain your battery a little faster with GPS enabled it but will be more accurate. One thing I noticed with the magnetic compass app is it bounces around a lot. You need to be very still for it to settle down.

[ARambler]

Well if we are not going to answer the question, I would say you have set a relatively reasonable low bar. My iPhone 6 has a compass and works great with Gaia, Guthook ... So, an old iPhone 6s or newer refurbished would work or I guess many Android options to answer your question/

[El JP]

It's sort of funny to me when $500 is considered "mid priced" and my Galaxy was a $65 cheapo pickup.
I wonder what is the minimum spec phone to run the most common apps on the trail?

[Slo-go'en]

It's sort of funny to me when $500 is considered "mid priced" and my Galaxy was a $65 cheapo pickup.
I wonder what is the minimum spec phone to run the most common apps on the trail?

So long as you have GPS you can run Guthook and that's all you really need. A $20 phone will do that.

[steady123]

thanks all!

Steady.

[Billy Goat]

You can get a fair compass at walmart, weighs a half oz, and costs $8. Very functional, nothing fancy, but plenty robust enough to survive a hike and doesn't run out of battery or have to be charged. Just saying. I may be one of the weird ones though. I like to leave my phone lots of places that aren't near me, provided that I get it back.

Cheers,
The Goat

[johnspenn]

ZTE Blade V8 Pro

I have had it a few months now and it works great with Gaia and Guthook, and has an internal compass. 200ish dollars, but to be fair I got mine on sale for 150 so you might want to pricewatch a little.

https://www.zteusa.com/blade/

[ldsailor]

What ever phone you choose, it is a good idea to be sure the magnetometer is calibrated correctly. Some phones support this calibration in the settings menu - select "Motion." In other phones the menu item is not in the settings menu, so you have to bring up a hidden menu to do the calibration. Google for it. If your phone doesn't support the calibration in settings and you can't find the hidden menu, then download this app - GPS Status & Toolbox. I use it on my phone, and it can calibrate all the installed sensors including the magnetometer sensor. It also has a pretty good compass with latitude and longitude readout included.

[El JP]

You can get a fair compass at walmart, weighs a half oz, and costs $8. Very functional, nothing fancy, but plenty robust enough to survive a hike and doesn't run out of battery or have to be charged. Just saying. I may be one of the weird ones though. I like to leave my phone lots of places that aren't near me, provided that I get it back.

Cheers,
The Goat

Guess I'm another weirdo. One of the first things on my gear list was a compass.

[LIhikers]

A paper map and an actual compass and you won't need to worry about batteries, you're not so weird. Well, not in that regard anyway.
Society considers anyone who wants to walk thousands of miles and sleep in the woods weird anyway, so maybe you are

[Leo L.]

I think that many more smartphones have a magnetic sensor built-in than is common knowledge. In all the tech specs of my Sony I couldn't find any hint if it had one or not - but sure it has.
But then, this magnetic compass is of pretty poor relieability, sometimes ist maybe 20deg. off to one side, then ist 30deg. off to the other side, another time ist circling around like drunk.
Not a piece of equipment you could use for, say, papermaps work.
As soon I turn the GPS on, the compass bearing seems to be pretty steady and accurate.

No harm done to carry a light professional compass in the emergency kit in addition to the smartphone.
(I have a standard "Recta" compass in the kit: http://www.recta.ch/de/dp-2 )

[ldsailor]

But then, this magnetic compass is of pretty poor relieability, sometimes ist maybe 20deg. off to one side, then ist 30deg. off to the other side, another time ist circling around like drunk.

Try calibrating it as described in my earlier post on this thread. I had the same problem you describe until I calibrated the sensor, and then the smartphone compass became very accurate without GPS.

[wordstew]

Here's the phone for you: https://droidchart.com/en/lg/lg-x-ch...2-lg-m322-4036

Has a great battery and expandable memory.
accelerometer
gyroscope
light
proximity