Apple has announced that its new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models will support India’s satellite navigation system, NavIC, for location-based services. This is the first time Apple has extended support for NavIC to its iPhone models.

NavIC is an alternative to the widely used Global Positioning System (GPS). India has been striving to promote NavIC as its own navigation system, reducing reliance on GPS and other systems. Smartphone makers like Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Realme already support NavIC on some of their phones.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) established NavIC to meet the positioning, navigation, and timing requirements of the nation. It is a regional navigation satellite system known as Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) or Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). Currently, there are eight first-generation NavIC satellites in orbit.

In May, India successfully put into orbit the first of its second-generation navigation satellite, NVS-01. The coverage area of NavIC includes India and a region up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian boundary. NavIC signals are interoperable with other global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals like GPS, Glonass, Galileo, and BeiDou.

India aims to expand NavIC coverage globally and hopes that tech companies will make their devices compatible with the new standard. By adopting NavIC, Apple’s iPhone models will provide users with precise location and navigation services, further strengthening the popularity of this Indian satellite navigation system.