What is UWB and why is the iPhone a better choice if you want to take advantage of it?

UWB (short for ultra-wideband) is a low-energy, short-range radio technology that has been around for decades (it was called “pulse radio” for a while).

UWB utilizes ultra-fast signal pulses (up to over a billion per second) that are broadcast over a wide area of ​​the radio spectrum (from 500MHz to several gigahertz). This avoids the interference problems that plague other technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Also: Flipper Zero FAQ: Answers to “Can You Really Hack Wi-Fi Networks?” and Other Questions

Until recently, UWB was primarily limited to military and medical applications.

But that is changing.

It’s possible that UWB could replace Wi-Fi (which never happened), and that Apple was planning to use UWB instead of Bluetooth to communicate with AirPods, but UWB The feature that made it mainstream is accuracy. discover.

Apple has built UWB support into many of its devices over the past few years, including the U1 chip. iPhone 11 or newer, Series 6 or newer Apple Watch, homepod mini, Second generation AirPods Proand of course, air tag.

If you’re using AirTags (which iPhone users should be using), you’re using UWB to find lost keys or pets.

Also: 5 ways to simplify your life with AirTags

The low-energy aspect of UWB means that a small button cell battery can last a year in a tag. Precise search capabilities also mean you can narrow your search for lost possessions from hundreds of feet to inches.

Not only is it more accurate than GPS, it works indoors as well as outdoors.

Everything works in Apple’s ecosystem.

Hmmm… just a minute.

There is one exception here and that is the latest generation. iPhone SEFor some strange reason Apple didn’t include UWB support here. A bit of an oversight, if you ask me, but I hope the next generation iPhone SE changes that.

review: Apple iPhone SE (2022): You won’t find a better smartphone at this price

But what about Android users?

This is where things get more patchwork.

Of the millions of Android devices released each month, very few support UWB.

So far this is a very short list.

To make things even more confusing, of all the Samsung devices listed as supporting UWB, only the S21+ and S21 Ultra currently actually work. I think Samsung will enable it for other devices at some point.

Also: 5 best Samsung phones

yeah i know, weird.

Samsung has its own AirTags. Galaxy SmartTag+but unless you own one of the Samsung smartphones that support UWB, you’re out of luck.

more annoying.

Now tags are one thing. You can use them or leave them alone, but UWB is gaining traction in other areas.

One of their uses is as a digital “key” for your home or car. Imagine the convenience of walking to your car or front door and being able to detect your proximity and automatically unlock it.

Now, if you’re an iPhone owner and you bought a new handset in the last few years and the iPhone wasn’t an iPhone SE, no problem.

But for Android users, things get even more complicated.

Not only do you need to check if your phone supports UWB, but if it does, how to turn it on.

My guess is that things will improve in the next few years, but it could be a long time before UWB fits into Android device budgets.