Flighty tracks the plane’s journey on iPhone even in airplane mode. Flight tracking app Flighty is one of the best implemented Apple’s new live activity feature to date and the latest version, number 2.7.0 released a few days ago, arrives just in time for the holidays adding a clever trick to update the plane’s progress with real data even when in flight.
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How do live activities work?
First of all, remember that all iPhones with iOS 16.1 or later can access the app’s live activity on the lock screen, while those with iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max can also access this information from Dynamic Island and can also press us long above to interact with the content shown at that moment.
How do they work on Flighty?
In the case of Flighty, the live activity related to the next flight automatically starts three hours before departure: this means that you can easily follow the flight status including delays and gate changes directly from the lock screen and from the Dynamic Island. Obviously all this data is also available in the app along with everything else, but always having it at your fingertips isn’t bad.
Real-time info in airplane mode
As for the most curious novelty, in the past Flighty also worked offline and in flight providing an estimate of the data instead of showing those in real time, while now the app is able to download real data in real time using the free WiFi in flight, even when the iPhone is in airplane mode:
Receive real-time data even in airplane mode – simply connect to the free messaging-only WiFi available on most major airlines.
This is possible because – explains the founder of Flighty, Ryan Jones – most airlines, especially in the USA (with JetBlue, Delta, Alaska, Southwest and United), offer the iMessage service for free and since the live iOS 16.1 are updated through the same protocol of the messaging service, the app (which can be downloaded for free from the App Store) is able to draw from this data simply by exploiting the free WiFi of the flight.
