Barclays analysts claim that Android smartphones will begin to have Ultra Wideband later on in 2020. iPhone 11 models already have this technology, providing spatial awareness and location features for owners of U1-integrated devices.
NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch chipmaker company was the first to have the Secure Element, NFC and all-in-one Ultra Wideband. It’s expected that Android phone manufacturers will get Ultra Wideband first. With the technology, mobiles will have added capabilities, such as unlocking cars, points of entries and connected doors, as well as audio speakers and lights via UWB sensing.
On iOS 13, the AirDrop feature utilizes Ultra Wideband so one iPhone 11 user can share files with another iPhone simply by pointing their phone towards the recipient. Apple mentioned that AirDrop is only the first of many that will be added later on.
In 2019, there was a code found in iOS 13 that allowed users to track tags with accuracy in both outdoor and indoor locations. It’s yet to be determined if ‘AirTags’ will be made available in the near future.
