If you’re sharing a location, surveying an area, or creating a map, then your site’s exact figures of latitude and longitude are crucial. Thanks to navigation apps, getting your bearings is a lot easier by integrating GPS. However, that’s not the only way to identify your present GPS location.
Did you know that you can even get the coordinates of your location using your smartphone? You can also download apps and activate features that provide you with the latitude and longitude of a specific location.
Follow the advice outlined below to find your location using Android or iPhone.
Table of Contents
Using Mobile Navigation Apps
Google Maps
You’ve probably used it before while planning routes or looking up real-time traffic information. It’s also the simplest way to enter latitude and longitude coordinates or find your current coordinates.
For example, what city am I in right now? To find your current coordinates, open Google Maps, zoom into your location and hold down on the map screen. Your latitude and longitude should pop up in the search bar, and you can copy them.
Man touch search button
Alternatively, you can type the GPS coordinates in the search bar. After entering both latitude and longitude, Google Maps takes you to the pair of coordinates that you typed in.
Both iPhone and Android users can use Google Maps to identify their present GPS location by following these steps:
- First, open the Google Maps app on your Smartphone and enter the location whose coordinates you want. You can also tap on “My Location.”
- Press and hold the screen until a red pin appears. Ensure the pin doesn’t have another location already marked.
- Lastly, scroll down to see your GPS coordinates and current address. You can select and copy these details, share them with your friends, or paste them into island search.
Apple Maps
Apple hasn’t lagged behind with its navigation app, Apple Maps. You can also use it as a GPS location finder. For iOS users, Apple Maps is the easiest option because iPhones already have the app pre-installed.
Moreover, like Google Maps, you press and hold down on the map screen and wait for a pop-up text box to appear. This text box will show you the coordinates and additional information about the location.
Sometimes, you might prefer finding a location by typing in a pair of coordinates, like if you’re looking for GPS coordinates for your current location. You can simply paste the coordinates from the text box into the search bar in Apple Maps. This takes you to the latitude and longitude coordinates anywhere in the world.
GPS navigator and map
Other Apps to Help You Find Your GPS Coordinates
My GPS Coordinates
This Android app lets you share your GPS location via email, text, or social media.
Finding your current location on their maps only takes one click. With My GPS Coordinates, you can save your current location and browse it later, save photos in your history, export or import data to or from other Android devices, and even synchronize the app with watch devices. Moreover, the My GPS Coordinates app doesn’t need an internet connection.
GPS Coordinates
This Android app functions much like Google Maps, with some nifty extra features. First, it comes with a coordinate converter that can turn any address into latitude and longitude and vice versa. You can also save and load any GPS coordinates from your locations and addresses. The display has four settings, normal, satellite, terrain, and hybrid.
My Location – Where Am I?
My Location displays your latitude, longitude, and address on the map. In addition, users can share their location with other people using the current location page. Therefore, you can save these details for later use or search for any address/latitude/longitude and find the location on the map.
Cyclist using navigator on smartphone
FAQs
What Is the Standard GPS Coordinate Format?
In that order, the standard GPS coordinate format is degrees, minutes, and seconds. In written form, you would read these coordinates as 50 degrees, 45 minutes, 20.32 seconds north and 3 degrees, 15 minutes, and 30.2 east.
How Do You Write GPS Coordinates on Paper?
You can write using the decimal degree (DD) system (41.40338, 2.17403.). There is the (DMS) system (51°28’12.2″N 2°15’26.5″ E). This writing in decimal, minute and seconds. You can also use the degrees and decimal minutes (DMM) system (51 28.2028, 2 15.4418).
What Units Are GPS Coordinates In?
The primary units of longitude and latitude are in degrees (°). There are 360° of longitude (180° East ↔ 180° West) and 180° of latitude (90° North ↔ 90° South). Therefore, each degree can get broken into 60 minutes each (‘). Every minute can get divided further into 60 seconds (”).
Man holding a 3D pin holder on a globe with coordinates.
Conclusion
Finding coordinate locations is easier than you may think. Android and iOS make great GPS location finder apps with various features like offline services, saved maps and coordinates, bookmarked sites and landmarks, and additional location data for those who like to have the most detailed information available.
You don’t need a dedicated GPS device to pinpoint your location in a pinch. Your smartphone is enough to let you know your exact GPS coordinates anywhere in the world.
