What’s a Barometer Doing in Google’s Nexus Galaxy Phone?

Image: Google

Among the Nexus’s new features, one came as a surprise to at least some: There’s a barometer in this phone.
Barometers, instruments used to measure atmospheric pressure, are often in GPS devices and even some of the more rugged watches. So what’s it doing in the phone? After scratching his head, a reporter at PopSci
decided to ask the Weather Underground.
Well, it could mean a couple things, according to different people. Someone could write an app that can use the barometer to determine change in altitude, something could benefit hickers or people in transit. If data is gathered from these phones, you could “get a super-dense picture of the pressure changes due to an approaching thunderstorm, cold front, or hurricane,” says Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at the Weather Underground. But John Celenza, the lead meteorological developer at Weather Underground, thinks the instrument is used for something simpler: to supplement GPS’ altitude information.
The PopSci writer, though, is optimistic the presence of the barometer could mean a weather-forecast revolution, in which you would have “a meterologist, right in your phone!” But all signs point to no, for now.
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