Is the compass function unreliable by default across iPhone models?

Hello,

I’m genuinely wondering why no one seems to complain about the iPhone’s compass functionality. Across all the iPhones I’ve owned, the compass heading in map apps is wrong about 30–50% of the time. That’s really frustrating when trying to navigate on foot in a city.

For example, I’ll be clearly walking north (confirmed by the map and my own eyes), but the arrow will be pointing sideways or even backward. It throws off navigation, especially in unfamiliar places.

Is this normal behavior?

If yes, then why even include the compass? It seems like it just makes the iPhone more complex, possibly more expensive, and more frustrating to use. At the very least, Apple should give us the option to disable or hide it.