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When will we get precise positioning using UWB? UWB has been in three generations of Pixel phones now and I haven't been able to use it a single time. Not even

When will we get precise positioning using UWB? UWB has been in three generations of Pixel phones now and I haven't been able to use it a single time. Not even once. I want a direction finding arrow that points to my lost headphones case or my wife's phone. I want a smart door lock that unlocks automatically when I approach from the outside but not the inside. I want to stop relying on flaky Bluetooth for Tesla's car key. Why are there literally zero products on the market that support UWB on Android as far as I can tell?

deleted 3y ago
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sudosysgen 3y ago
I don't see why UWB should have anything to do with the Find My network. It's something the tag manufacturer would add separately. Since UWB range is lower than BLE range, the Find My network would get you close enough and then the manufacturer's app would enable you to use UWB. So the answer is, whenever a manufacturer thinks it's worth including in the tag.
- spants 3y ago
  samsung have this.
  - imp0cat 3y ago
    This. Samsung Smart Tags work great, but not all Samsung phones support UWB do do check before you commit to a purchase.
- modeless 3y ago
  According to this article you use Google's "Find My Device" app to find tags, not the manufacturer's app. Google's app needs to support UWB tags and display appropriate direction finding UI. Like Apple's has for years.
  - sudosysgen 3y ago
    It doesn't have to, and you don't have to. There is zero reason why you can't just have the UWB direction finding UI in a different app, even should they not add the hook. The UI/UX change between map oriented passive direction finding from anywhere in the world and camera oriented UWB direction finding only when you're within range is very sharp. If it could eventually do it within the app that could be pretty neat, but even if it doesn't and just has a button to open the manufacturer's app - just like it currently does to open the maps app - it would be basically as good. Alternatively, the manufacturer's app can just show a notification to get you into the UWB UI when active proximity mode is enabled and when you are within UWB range. Apple isn't the only manufacturer to do UWB, and Samsung's UX is pretty similar to this and works just as well.
    - modeless 3y ago
      It is ridiculous for Google to release a new tag finding app today without UWB support and without even mentioning UWB at all as a future feature. Sure, Google could link to third party apps, but they're not. Sure, manufacturers could do it themselves, they could have done it three years ago, but they didn't and they still aren't. I'm asking why none of this happened. It's irrelevant whether someone theoretically could have done it or might do it later.
      - sudosysgen 3y ago
        But manufacturers have? Samsung tags have UWB and they work well. There are also Chinese UWB enabled trackers you can buy. Other manufacturers like Pebblebee, Chipolo and Tile decided not to include it - neither on Android nor iOS. They could have added it for years now, they just decided not to. Chipolo says they think it's just not worth the tradeoff. I don't necessarily disagree - I rarely use it with my samsung tags or airtags, it's just more convenient to use sound 95% of the time. Only time I'll use it is if I'm afraid of waking someone up. I could definitely see it being useful for people with hearing limitations, though.
        3y ago
kelnos 3y ago
> UWB has been in three generations of Pixel phones now Only sorta -- the Pro models have it, but the regular ones do not. I wouldn't be surprised if Google eventually rolls this out. But it's probably bad optics to say it's only supported with a very limited set of models.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

sudosysgen 3y ago

I don't see why UWB should have anything to do with the Find My network. It's something the tag manufacturer would add separately. Since UWB range is lower than BLE range, the Find My network would get you close enough and then the manufacturer's app would enable you to use UWB. So the answer is, whenever a manufacturer thinks it's worth including in the tag.

spants 3y ago
samsung have this.
- imp0cat 3y ago
  This. Samsung Smart Tags work great, but not all Samsung phones support UWB do do check before you commit to a purchase.
modeless 3y ago
According to this article you use Google's "Find My Device" app to find tags, not the manufacturer's app. Google's app needs to support UWB tags and display appropriate direction finding UI. Like Apple's has for years.
- sudosysgen 3y ago
  It doesn't have to, and you don't have to. There is zero reason why you can't just have the UWB direction finding UI in a different app, even should they not add the hook. The UI/UX change between map oriented passive direction finding from anywhere in the world and camera oriented UWB direction finding only when you're within range is very sharp. If it could eventually do it within the app that could be pretty neat, but even if it doesn't and just has a button to open the manufacturer's app - just like it currently does to open the maps app - it would be basically as good. Alternatively, the manufacturer's app can just show a notification to get you into the UWB UI when active proximity mode is enabled and when you are within UWB range. Apple isn't the only manufacturer to do UWB, and Samsung's UX is pretty similar to this and works just as well.
  - modeless 3y ago
    It is ridiculous for Google to release a new tag finding app today without UWB support and without even mentioning UWB at all as a future feature. Sure, Google could link to third party apps, but they're not. Sure, manufacturers could do it themselves, they could have done it three years ago, but they didn't and they still aren't. I'm asking why none of this happened. It's irrelevant whether someone theoretically could have done it or might do it later.
    - sudosysgen 3y ago
      But manufacturers have? Samsung tags have UWB and they work well. There are also Chinese UWB enabled trackers you can buy. Other manufacturers like Pebblebee, Chipolo and Tile decided not to include it - neither on Android nor iOS. They could have added it for years now, they just decided not to. Chipolo says they think it's just not worth the tradeoff. I don't necessarily disagree - I rarely use it with my samsung tags or airtags, it's just more convenient to use sound 95% of the time. Only time I'll use it is if I'm afraid of waking someone up. I could definitely see it being useful for people with hearing limitations, though.
      - 3y ago

kelnos 3y ago

> UWB has been in three generations of Pixel phones now Only sorta -- the Pro models have it, but the regular ones do not. I wouldn't be surprised if Google eventually rolls this out. But it's probably bad optics to say it's only supported with a very limited set of models.