A sensing apparatus includes a magneto-resistive sensing element and a coil element formed on a first chip, and semiconductor circuitry formed on a second chip. The magneto-resistive sensing element senses magnetic fields, while the coil element is used to reset a magnetic orientation of the magneto-resistive sensing element. The semiconductor circuitry includes a reset circuit that controls the coil element and an amplifier circuit coupled to the magneto-resistive sensing element. The amplifier circuit operates to generate a sensing signal that is proportional to the sensed magnetic fields. The sensing signal is then used to activate the reset circuit.
