Wear OS 5 prepares to add support for UWB ahead of Pixel Watch 3 launch

[phillynews215]

• Code within the Wear OS 5 Developer Preview suggests that the upcoming update will add support for toggling UWB on supported smartwatches.
• UWB support was initially added in Android 12, whereas Wear OS 5 will be based on Android 14.
• The reason UWB support is being added to Wear OS now is likely because the Pixel Watch 3 will support the technology.

GPS isnt always practical to add support for, especially on really compact electronic devices with tiny batteries. Smaller devices tend to be lost more easily, though, so alternatives to GPS are needed to locate them. That usually happens through either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, which are both basically ubiquitous, but the precision of these technologies when it comes to location tracking, especially when distance and direction are determined through the received signal strength, leave a lot to be desired. This is why UWB is gaining in popularity, and support for this technology is finally being added to Android smartwatches with Wear OS 5.

UWB, which stands for ultra-wideband, is a short-range wireless communication protocol thats incredibly good at pinpointing the distance and direction between objects. An UWB transmitter can easily navigate towards the location of an UWB receiver with sub-meter precision, and since UWB uses time-of-flight measurements between the transmitter and receiver rather than received signal strength, the exact direction towards the receiver can be easily derived. Its no wonder then that UWB is seeing adoption by item tracker makers, as the technology can precisely lead users directly to the location of their personal belongings, as well as by car makers, as UWB can help lead people to the location of their parked cars.




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