iphonemkcoordinateregionlocation-based

iPhone4(s) - my findings of regionMonitoring feature


In my testing, I have found that the results of my tesing regionMonitoring on iPhone4S has been a little under par.

That being said, here's what's happening in my testing:

  1. I try to test by setting an alert for the same location when I drive. Sometimes, the alert goes off right on the dime, but most of the time it does not. I have been wondering about the accuracy of this feature. The feature saves power, which is great, but what good is it if timely updates are not received by the device. It defeats the purpose. In this case the users are going to give bad reviews to the app - because they'll have to switch to startUpdatingLocation which is power hungry

  2. Since I drive around for testing, and because the updates are not received - in time, I believe, the alert does not go off. Is my 50.0m radius too small? I can increase it - but the user will be alerted a little too soon!

  3. The feature relies on user's device being passed by one cell-tower to the next. Therefore, is the user out of luck (for using this feature) if he/she happens to be in area where there are not enough cell towers?

Thoughts? Suggestions? Regards....


Solution

  • 50 meters is pretty aggressive even for GPS on a handheld. Try throwing up a wider net first, then switch to more aggressive location monitoring when you were say, within 500-1000m of the target location.