It’s been almost four years since Samsung shipped the first Android phone with an ultra-wideband chip – or UWB for short – built in. Since then, Samsung has incorporated UWB into eight other phone series, including the flagships of the Galaxy S21, S22, S23 and S24 line-ups, as well as the Z Fold 2, 3, 4 and 5. Google has also followed suit with its Pixel 6, 7 and 8 Pro models, as well as the Fold and Tablet.
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Still, here we are with basically nothing to show off the tech. UWB enables secure keyless entry in some high-end cars and is also used by Samsung to better locate a lost Galaxy SmartTag 2 around you. That’s all you can use UWB for right now. The chip is also supposed to power quick music casting from your Pixel phone to your Pixel Tablet, but the feature hasn’t launched yet despite being teased for months.
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Even Chipolo and Pebblebee’s new Android-wide Find My Device compatible Bluetooth trackers don’t have UWB. And it looks like Eufy’s upcoming tracker won’t offer UWB either. We don’t know anything about the Motorola and Jio trackers that have been hinted to, nor do we know if Google’s rumored “Grogu” Nest locating tag will contain it, assuming it is released at all.
This leaves UWB on Android today in roughly the same position it was a year or two ago – very little used and far behind Apple and its use cases for the tech. There is hope, though, as we’ve found in an APK teardown of Google’s Find My Device app that UWB support is coming, so we can use it to locate nearby phones and/or missing tags.There are other use cases that are far more commonly used.
Comparatively, and as of right now, I only witness UWB in operation on Android when attempting to find my Galaxy SmartTag 2.
I was hoping UWB would be a default requirement on all Find My Device trackers (especially considering how delayed they were!), but that’s definitely not the case so far. At this point, we’ll have to wait until the Find My Device app and the upcoming tags add support for UWB.
I hope to see more UWB magic on Android phones soon – not just Pixels and Samsungs. Nearby music casting would be a good start, as would its use in Bluetooth trackers. Maybe we need to see Xiaomi, OnePlus, vivo, and other brands join this bandwagon too. I’m sure they’ll figure out use cases we haven’t even considered yet.
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what is UWB?
UWB stands for “Ultra Wideband,” a short-range wireless communication technology that enables extremely accurate location tracking. A UWB-enabled device can send and receive data over short distances with incredible speed. In most cases, these “pulse-based” radio waves are used to measure location by precisely timing how long it takes a radio pulse to travel between two different devices.
The main attraction of UWB comes in the form of its extremely high location and directional accuracy. UWB tracking is actually so accurate that it can pinpoint an object’s location to just a few centimeters. Bluetooth, GPS, and other tracking methods are also accurate, but only to a meter or two.
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UWB technology facts
UWB can accurately track an equipped object to within 3.9 inches (10 centimeters)
Frequency: 3.1−10.6 GHz
Speed: Linear speed of light (0.3 m/ns)
Range: 30–600 feet (10–200 m)
Localization accuracy: 0.1−0.5 m (0.33−1.64 ft)
Very low sensitivity to interference
First developed: 1960s
Originally restricted and used only for US government and military applications
UWB is quite different from the way other wireless data transfers work. It is a pulse pattern radio-based technology that sends data in the time domain along a spectrum between 3.1 and 10.6 GHz. Traditional wireless transmissions vary the power, frequency, and/or phase of a sinewave rather than simple pulses to encode data.
How is UWB used in smartphones?
Games, keyless entry and driverless cars are one thing, but what about smartphones? How is ultra-wideband being used in the world’s most essential devices? Today, Apple and Samsung use this technology to allow their flagship smartphones to take full advantage of location tracking with AirTags and Galaxy Smart Tag+ devices respectively. Ultra-wideband is also used to enable file sharing over Airdrop and Nearby-Share.
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Apart from this, however, UWB hasn’t been fully utilized in the smartphone market. And, UWB is only being used in a handful of smartphones – just the flagships from Google, Apple and Samsung. Clearly, we still have a long way to go in terms of universal availability.
Smartphones that support ultra-wideband
Although ultra-wideband technology has been around for a few years, it’s still not as common as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It is currently limited to some of the most expensive devices in the market due to its limited adoption. However, you can expect that to change as the technology reaches mainstream vehicles and tracking devices.
smartphones that support UWB technology:
The entire Apple iPhone 15 family as well as every model since the iPhone 11 series. The iPhone SE series does not support ultra-wideband.
Google Pixel Fold
Google Pixel 6 Pro, 7 Pro, 8 Pro
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus/Ultra, S22 Plus/Ultra, S23 Plus/Ultra, S24 Plus/Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, Z Fold 3, Z Fold 4, Z Fold 5
Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, and Series 9.
