gps-details

Apple Watches - GNSS

Author: Michael George

Created: 4 Feb 2025

Apple Watch

Teardowns of several Apple watches clearly show a dedicated GNSS chip (e.g. Broadcom BCM477x4 in Series 6 and 7). However, teardowns of the earlier Apple watches (e.g. Series 3 and 4) don’t appear to show a dedicated GNSS chip. This suggests the Series 3 / 4 / 5 watches may therefore have used the RF frontend + baseband processor for GNSS capabilities, just like the iPhones. The Qualcomm MDM9635M baseband processor was used in the Series 3, but the Intel PMB9955 has been used since the Series 4.

Model Announced OS GNSS Chipset
1st Gen Apr 2015 watchOS 1.0 - -
Series 1 Sep 2016 watchOS 3.0 - -
Series 2 Sep 2016 watchOS 3.0 GPS and GLONASS Dedicated GNSS
Series 3 Sep 2017 watchOS 4.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS Qualcomm MDM9635M 1
Series 4 Sep 2018 watchOS 5.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS Intel PMB9955 2
Series 5 Sep 2019 watchOS 6.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS Intel PMB9955 2
Series 6 Sep 2020 watchOS 7.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS Broadcom BCM47754 3
Series 7 Sep 2021 watchOS 8.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou Broadcom BCM47764 3
Series 8 Sep 2022 watchOS 9.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou Broadcom 4
Series 9 Sep 2023 watchOS 10.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou Broadcom 4
Series 10 Sep 2024 watchOS 11.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou Broadcom 4

Notes:

  1. Qualcomm MDM9635M was last used in the iPhone 6s / 6s Plus (Sep 2015) and Apple Watch Series 3 (Sep 2017).
  2. Intel PMB9955 baseband processor is the XMM7560 LTE modem, identified by TechInsights and other sources.
  3. Teardowns show the Broadcom BCM47754 (Apple Watch Series 6) and BCM47764 (Apple Watch Series 7).
  4. The current assumption (on my part) is that Apple have continued to use GNSS chipsets from Broadcom.

Apple Watch SE

I haven’t seen any teardowns for the Apple Watch SE, but both watches have cellular options.

The cellular models of the Apple Watch SE are roughly half the price of the mid-range Apple Watch; e.g. SE (gen 2) at £219 vs Series 10 at £399. It is therefore possible that the cellular models use the GNSS capabilities of the Intel PMB9955 baseband processor. The GPS models of the Apple Watch SE could either use the Intel baseband processor, or a dedicated GNSS chip.

Test data will almost certainly provide us with some some clues…

Model Announced OS GNSS Chipset
SE (1st gen) Sep 2020 watchOS 7.0 GPS and GLONASS ?
SE (2nd gen) Sep 2022 watchOS 9.0 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS ?

Apple Watch Ultra

Intel PMB9955 baseband processor does not support multi-band GNSS, so the Ultra watches must be using a dedicated GNSS chip.

Model Announced OS GNSS Chipset
Ultra Sep 2022 watchOS 9.0 L1 and L5 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou Broadcom 1
Ultra 2 Sep 2023 watchOS 10.0 L1 and L5 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou Broadcom 1

Notes:

  1. Suspect the Broadcom BCM47765 or BCM4778, both of which supersede the BCM47764 (Apple Watch Series 7).