Apple Watch Series 6 is first to integrate U1 Ultra Wideband chip

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited September 2020
Not mentioned during Apple's "Time Flies" keynote on Tuesday is a new Apple Watch Series 6 hardware feature primed to play an important role in the company's upcoming product ecosystem.

Apple Watch Series 6


The new flagship wearable is Apple's first to include the U1 Ultra Wideband chip, according to technical specifications listed on the company's website. Apple's UWB solution debuted with iPhone 11 in 2019.

What features the U1 is destined to facilitate for Apple Watch remains unclear. Currently, the chip serves as a backbone for directional AirDrop functionality on iPhone 11 series handsets.

Apple designed the U1 to provide spatial awareness and precise location tracking capabilities to mobile devices. The system utilizes UWB to send repeatable signals between two iPhones -- and now Apple Watch -- to determine their relative position in space.

Due to its fairly specific feature set, the U1 is expected to play a key role in upcoming Apple technologies like AirTags.

Rumored to launch this fall, AirTags are said to be Tile-like location beacons that enable users to track down lost items -- supposedly in augmented reality. A patent filing in August outlined potential operational aspects of the tracking platform, while recent leaks claim to reveal the product's small, circular design.

Currently, iPhone 11 and 11 Pro are the only product lines to integrate the U1 chip since its inception last year. Apple passed on incorporating the hardware into new iPad Pro, iPhone SE and Mac products that saw release during the intervening period. Today's newly introduced iPad, iPad Air and Apple Watch SE also lack UWB compatibility, according to Apple's press material.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    If the U1 helps my AW6 find my iPhone 12 faster, this will be money well spent. 

    ihatescreennamesjahbladesphericSpamSandwichthtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 9
    bageljoey said:
    If the U1 helps my AW6 find my iPhone 12 faster, this will be money well spent. 

    My wife is always misplacing either her watch or her phone. She uses her watch to ping her phone several times a week, no exaggeration. Being able to use the phone to locate the watch that has slipped between the sofa cushions would be great.
    caladanianSpamSandwichthtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 9
    bageljoey said:
    If the U1 helps my AW6 find my iPhone 12 faster, this will be money well spent. 

    My wife is always misplacing either her watch or her phone. She uses her watch to ping her phone several times a week, no exaggeration. Being able to use the phone to locate the watch that has slipped between the sofa cushions would be great.
    She might consider a WatchBand
    edited September 2020 sphericquenchGeorgeBMacrazorpit
  • Reply 4 of 9
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    I like to spend about ten minutes searching before asking the watch to find my phone. 

    The last time I did this, it pinged the phone on its charging stand, always the last place I look. 
    sphericquenchGeorgeBMacthtentropyswatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 9
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,273member
    Rayz2016 said:
    I like to spend about ten minutes searching before asking the watch to find my phone. 

    The last time I did this, it pinged the phone on its charging stand, always the last place I look. 

    To paraphrase George Carlin... It's always in the last place you look. Why would you keep looking after you found it?
    tyler82GeorgeBMacthtJapheywatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 9
    bageljoey said:
    If the U1 helps my AW6 find my iPhone 12 faster, this will be money well spent. 

    My wife is always misplacing either her watch or her phone. She uses her watch to ping her phone several times a week, no exaggeration. Being able to use the phone to locate the watch that has slipped between the sofa cushions would be great.


    You can locate the watch using the "Find My" app from your iphone @ihatescreennames ;
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 9
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    mike1 said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    I like to spend about ten minutes searching before asking the watch to find my phone. 

    The last time I did this, it pinged the phone on its charging stand, always the last place I look. 

    To paraphrase George Carlin... It's always in the last place you look. Why would you keep looking after you found it?
    That wasn’t George Carlin. David Brenner said it long before. Since then, a lot of people have said it.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 9
    knd52008 said:

    You can locate the watch using the "Find My" app from your iphone @ihatescreennames ;
    Yes, BUT
    if it is in a sofa cushion or under a pillow it is hard to hear. I’m hoping that the U1 chip adds more detail—AR arrows or something to point you directly to it even if you can’t hear it. 
    Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 9
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,273member
    melgross said:
    mike1 said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    I like to spend about ten minutes searching before asking the watch to find my phone. 

    The last time I did this, it pinged the phone on its charging stand, always the last place I look. 

    To paraphrase George Carlin... It's always in the last place you look. Why would you keep looking after you found it?
    That wasn’t George Carlin. David Brenner said it long before. Since then, a lot of people have said it.

    Ahh. I stand corrected.
    watto_cobra
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